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Jj;i'u.\ Library
Bitnrrtrft CaUrrflmt.
emcxi
/^(^Ot
1
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■FH>— V »d
I
Al
'HhoiLn^Al
^^^^-YORR DAILY TRIBUNE
by raHrcad for Waahington. Having obtained pasfles
from Qon. Sandford, tl^ isrill be no delaj in their
progress.
FLAGS WHICH HAVE WAVED QVEE NEW-
VOKK Cll^V.
BY AUGUSTUS li. GARDNER. M. D.
a^-d bffcre tic New-Yoilc HUtorical Society, May 7/1861.
The collection of large bodies d men engaged in
military enterpriscji, and the chanflfing pOBsession of
fcrtreaees and strategic points, rcnde^pd some means
necessary to be employed, so that friend ihi^ be imme-
^tely dkliuguijihed from foe by the eye. In auri««t
timw, wlien fighting waa mainly hand to hand, these
^'American colonies among themselves and at the same
time cUimiog to be an mteueral part of the British
Empire, and as sach demanding the rights and tiberties
of the British snbjects. A flag combitiinff the crosses
ofSts.<j}eorgeand Andrew and Patrick united (the
emblem (ji tEe United Kingdom of Great Britain,) with
a field of thirteen stripes, alternate whito and red, be-
ing the combination of flags previously nsed in the
camp and the cndsers of the floating batteries already
described, was adopted for this porpoee, and called the
GnEAT UNION Flag.
This banner, Che origin of oar national flag, was first
nnfnrled over the new Continental army, then about
7,000 in number, by Gen. WashingUm, at the camp in
Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 1, 1776.
It soon became apparent that all hope of reconcilia-
tion with the mother country was gone, and the neces-
isity of evincing Ihla feeling in the flag was evident,
and in accordance with this general conviction, Con-
grees first took action upon the subject, and June 14,
1/77, adopted the following resolution: *' That the flag
of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alter-
nate red and white; tUat the union be thirteen stars,
white in a blue field, representing a new constellii-
tion.'*
Considerable di^usdon took place respecting the
manner in which theuc stars should be distributed —
some, and among them Dr. Franklin, desiriug to have
the ioea of a " new constellation ' further carried out
by representing by them the coni»tellation of Lyra, the
time-bonored emblem of Union, and to place a lyre,
covered witb sUrs, upon the flug, but it was ultimately
settled that they should be placed in a circle.
The meaning of the stripes ti^on the flag is also a
matter of some dispute— by some it being oonBidered to
have been m^ely to repeat in thtf thirteen, stripes the
btory already told by the ihirtM sUurMRj other*
-dts oq c>s \C|4no}[n)iu^ oajos oi jl^ojqo 9unaA9J v
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';mod » ^1 SaiifHra *qoupoo9 jojdohoq jo uoi^iaraoo
y joj poi|0B OH 'q^nog punoq edjo^s 0}{I[jbai SniAii({
^o poiaodsDij BidssoA joj )no ?[00[ o) JOAiod qiiAv 's^ios
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•;g Vi fklooq s.oroiS 'j * J Jo pw ui uorjduoequa n dn
1^ pan 9Jno3 jouadug oq; jo man « pioq (*} [OisoA )Bq)
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mo iq ■{ »;^98nqowpreH *^8 looqag iwijnBiioqx'
*p{oi| oq) o) £[jno
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. i J *aoiAJO0 oiq«
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and
MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE-GO V. AN
, DREW'S MESSAGE.
an^ Special Diapeteh to Th« N. Y. Tribune.
Boston, Tuesday, May 14, 1861.
The elder and younger Met-srs. Quincy. Messrs. E^
erett, Sumner, and Wilson, listened to the Governor'
admirable Message. The greatest harmony cbaracte;
ized all the proceedings of the Legiislature to-daj
There is a prospect of a short session.
tio<
por
tna
sob
wa
•1
rfbi
th:
ZDOl
[sa
To the Aisodatea Prei».
BosTo:*. Tuesday, May 14, 1^61.
In the Senate to-day, a bill was iniroduceJ Jiiiboru
ing the Governor to form one or moro camps, ti consit
of 5,000 men, who are to he *>iili8tcd for tjtfcc year.
"TnV«illond prevaniea any (leiAy. lor me glorious
Stripes were fixed in the sod. and a discharge of
tbirteen (guns) fired. The city has been remarkably
quiet. A few days will, I hope, produce a littlo scra-
wny, when the Toriei take care."
During thhs period, beside the cross of St. George,
etc, as Beoondaiy and adjuncts, the Hesdan fli^^
were also spiead to the bre^. We have a descrip-
tion of two of them given by Mr. Lobsing in his val-
uable "Field Book of the Be volution.'' They were
taken by Washington at Trenton, and were of white
damask, with devices embroider ea
JSQM. o
-r-' I
9q; cnrqafng <n pnos nuq*- j .. .
-jimpn JO oBiaiojd OAiS *ttj' »•
puB *i,03Ht?iO Jofujf 's^jsqy v
Q909 eavq I qojqi^ soiindmos , . - •» ■ .
ion n qoiqAiL *^aoraiSoi 8,TO)pioo ,
pire oiSwnoo ««0 Moqs 0% oousqo jv
'{AwaOmoo VV^^/^d •V y> nondaoxw
and wkLamJAJia^MM^AAaBMaMMlM^ftb^^s Mil
rafto
d mil
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ay an
me a
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in silk, and the let-
tering in gold thread. The devices were, on one side, iir*<-^-
an eagle, having in his talona a scroll and olive- f r 1
branch. Over it, on a ribbon, are ** Pro Principe «^ ne
Patrioy" for our prince and our country, for neith^^ , f
of whieh were they fighting. On the other side waa« « a
monagzam composed of the letters £. C. T. S. A., and .j(
supposed to be that of the General commanding the •<
Anspackers. Under it were the initials M. Z. B., and '»
the date 1775, and the whole is snmtoaoted by the ^
British Crown. The flag was ftmr feet square.
It is probable that no Hessian colors ever floai <
from any flag-staff'in this city. Still these rogimenta. ^
colors were flaunted through our streets by the dom- ■ «
inant powers. 93
Pernaps, in this connection, it may be well to refer ^
to two other flags sometimes &e«n in this city, viz: the
State flag and the City flag. Neither of these bavo ^
any authorized legal or authoritative existence. Their >
devices are simply thoee of the coat of arms of th^
State, and the great seal of the city, important wbea
affixed to documents, but Insignifleant when blaionc «^
on bunting. The seal of the city desciibed by Bli .
Valentine in one of his very valuable Manuals, show^
tiie windmills and the beayers— objects of so much Li^
terest to the burghers who settled this city. Ttie Stat - \
seal is ift IfAw d^^t *
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aq9 BBA 'XJ0901A 89a[[K>o[q aiqx ^0^09 poB 9JOJ oq9
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dn poqiBB oojpBnba Tp%a(i B ^ztsi *^l^f ^ P^' *pa|ai _
-JBob oooB pcnqioH P<n pas[daa 909 *8Q[|[iiii» 90a
oaoii 0[doea Bq9 icu ^aoo asbo ob , BBii 999nbaoo aiqx
*paiCB[dBip
BBAk '9Bg aq9n| pooB[dpjBMJa^ 'asoio 0q9 qoiqiA nodn
enthoBiasm with which the people have
them. Now let 00 add the evidonoe of on
wiUingDeB to pay the biHB, to any amoon|
and the qoeitioii of potting down the Reb
is only a qneetion of time. Some of the Soot
em neBTBpaperB are flatterimg themaelTeB that
pralent feeling ai the North is a dght-seeing foror,
HRNRY HUDSON.
1
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A V
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1 :; '. K 1. .
HISTORY
Of '
CITY OF NEW TOEK
FROM ITS EAELIEST SETTLEMENT
TO THE PRESENT TIME.
MAKY L. BOOTH.
ILLU8TRAT1D WITH OTKR ONK H0NDSID ENOSATINag.
NEW YORK:
W. R. 0. CLARK «fe MEEKER,
49 WALKER STBEET.
HDOOOLIZ.
Entered according to Act of CongreiB, tn the year 1800, by
W. R. a CLARK ft MEEKER,
In the Clerk^s Office of the United Statee District Ooort for the Southern Diitriot of New Tork.
\
W. H. TU180K, SnBSOTTPKm amv PmnTUi»
Hmt of 48 * 4t Cratn St., N. T
WKCE8 k JUDD, DnroBSM.
ttrmUortit^N.T.
«0
THE MERCHANTS OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
WHO, CHKERTCLLT SACRiriCINQ THIIR INTEREST TO THAT 07
THEIR COUNTRY
IN THE REVOLUTION,
WERE THE FIRST TO PROPOSE A NOX-INTERCOURSE ACT— THE LAST
TO RENOUNCE IT, AND THE ONLY ONES TO MAINTAIN
IT INVIOLATE ;
▲ND WHO, BT THEIR EXBROT AND ENTERPRISE, HATE MADE THEIR CITT
AT THE PRESENT TIME
THE COMMERCIAL METROPOLIS OF THE WESTERN WORLD,
dfefs SSocfc it ^itstciitlr.
i
' /I
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE I.
1G09— 1C33.
New York as it was— Aborigines of Manhattan— Causes wbich led to the discovery of
the island— Early navigators— Discovery of Manhattan by Henry Hudson— Landing
of the first white men— Death and burial of Colman— Hudson returns to Holland-
Opening of the Air trade — First hooses built on the island— Building of " The Restless "
—Organization of the New Ketherland Company— Alliance with vLe natives— Charter
granted to the West India Company— Oomelissen Jacobsen Mey appointed first Di-
rector—Arrival of the first colonists— The Walloons — William Yernulst appointed
second Director— Organization of a Provincial Government— Peter Minuit appointed
Director-general of Kew Netherland— Purchase of the island of Manhattan-%iilding
of Fort Amsterdam— The Patroons— Building of the mammoth ship, ^' New Kether-
land, " at Manhattan-rGro wth of the colony— Becall of Peter Minuit— His departure for
Holland, and subsequent events, 21—62
CHAPTEE II.
1633—1643.
Arrival of Wouter Van Twiller— First clergyman and schoolmaster— Church built at Fort
Amsterdam— ** Special right " granted to the city— Contention between Van Twiller
and BoMrdus— lite William saus to Fort Orange, and is forced to return- De Tries
and the Director— English difficulties on the Connecticut River— Anthony Van Corlaer,
the Trumpeter— Settlement of Flatlands — Purchase of Governor's Island bv Wouter
Van Twiller— Removal of the Schout Fiscal— Purchase of Pavonia— Recall of Van
Twiller— Arrival of Wilhelm Kieft, the new Director— Reform of abuses — Peter Minuit
at Fort Christina— Liberal policy of the Company— Increase of emigration— Settlement
of Staten Island— Settlement of Gravesend— The Jansens de RapeUe— English difficul-
ties—Progress of the city— City lots — Tavern built at Coenties Slip— Church built at
Fort Amsterdam— The Seawant currency, 63—101
CHAPTEE III.
1643— 1G64.
The Indian War— Causes which induced it— Murder of Claes Smlts— First public meeting
in New Amsterdam— The Twelve Men— Massacre at Pavom'a and Corlaer's Hook— Pro-
Sess of the war— The deposition of Eieft proposed bv the citizens— Adriaensen and
e Director— A truce proclaimed— Renewal of hostilities— The Eight Men— Battles of
Mespath and Stricklana's Plain— End of the war— Palisades through Wall street— Ex-
cise imposed by Kieft on beer, brandy, and beaver— Dissatisfaction of the people-
Memorial of the Eight Men— Kieft's recall determined on— Petrus Stuyvesant appointed
his succeseor— Quarrel between Kieft and Bogardus — Arrival of Stuyvesant— Municipal
Beforms— Melyn and Kuyter— Shipwreck and death of Kieft and Bogardus— Council
VI CONTENTS.
of Nine Men chosen by the people— Firewardens appointed— Origin of the Fire Depart-
ment of New York— City improvements— Municipal goyemment granted to Brenckelen
— *^ Burgher goyemment " established at Manhattan— First stadunys at Coenties Slip
— Inyasion threatened by the English— Lease of the Long Island Ferry— First seal
granted to the city— Expedition against the Swedes— The Indians attack the city— ■
First sorvey and census— Progress of the city— The Doke of York's patent— The Eng-
lish invest the city— Sorrender of the fort— Death of Stayyesant— His borial-place —
The old Stnyyesant pear-tree, 102—166
CHAPTER IV,
1664—1674.
Col. Bichard NicoUs, Ooyemor— ^The NicoUs Charter— City incorporated under a
Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriff— Mayor Willett— The Lutherans— War between England
and Holland— Fortification of the city- Peace of Breda— New Netherland ceded to
England— Betum of Nioolls— CoL Francis Lovelace, Governor— Popular grievances —
New seal granted to the city— The Exchange— Sale of a Swedish planter— Purchase of
Staten Island— War with Holland— Hostile expedition— Conduct of Manning— Beoap>
ture of the fort by the Dutch— New York becomes New Orange— Punishment of Man-
ning—Bestoration of the Dutch form of municipal government— Anthony Colve, Go-
vernor—Betum of the fleet— Warlike preparationa— Mayor's duties in olden times-
Trials for witchcraft— Treaty of peace— Final cession of New York to the English— Sir
Edmund Andros, Govemor— The first council— William Dervall, Mayor— Mayors De-
lavall, Steenwyck, Nicoll, and Lawrence— New York, and its parent, New Amster-
dam, ......;..... 16^174
CHAPTEE V.
1674.
New Amsterdam in the old Dutch colony times— Houses and fbrniture of the Burghers
of New Amsterdam— Carpets— Beds— Chests and cupboards— Chairs and tables— Tea
Sarties of New Amsterdam^-Clocks— Looking-glasses and pictures— Hearthstones of
ie Knickerbockers— Manners and customs---Costumes of the early settlers— Church
going— Early streets in the city— Social customs— Holidays— New Year's Day— Paaa
and Pinzter—Christmaa— Santa Clans, 175—195
CHAPTEE VI.
1674—1689.
Sir Edmund Andros, Govemor— Despotism of the Duke of York— Expedition of Andros
to New Engjand— Nicholas de Mever, Mayor— New city ordinances established— Free-
dom of the city— Tavem rates— Tne Shoemaker's Land— Improvement of Broad street
— Stephanus van Cortlandt, Mayor— Seven public wells built in the city— Water of the
island of Manhattan— Francois Bombouts, Mayor- Bolting monopoly granted to the
city— Establishment of tiie First Admiralty Court in the province--lndian laws —
William Dyre, Mayor— Visit of Andros to England— Dyre arrested by the citizens for
abuse of power in his office of Collector of Customs and sent to England for trial—
Comelius Steenwyck, Mayor— Becall of Andros, and appointment of Col. Thomas
Dongan as Governor— First Popular Assembljr under the English govemment-^ITharter
of Liberties — ^Municipal ordinances — City divided into six ward^Monopoly of pack-
inff fiour and making bread for exportation granted to the city— Aldermen and Coun-
ciimen for the first time elected by the neople— Gabriel Minveille, Mayor— Succession
of the Duke of York to the Throne— Nicholas Bayard, Mayor— Persecution of the
Jews— Powder magazine established in the citv — The Dongan Charter granted to the
city— City Seal of 1686— Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Mayor— Water street proposed —
Wall street laid out— Indian afEeurs— Becall of Dongan— Sir Francis Nicholson assumes
command of the province— Bevolution in England— Accession of William and Mary to
the throne, 196—218
(
/
CONTENTS. VU
CHAPTEE VII.
1689—1692.
DiaseiiBioii between the offloiklB and the people-Jacob Leialer chosen as the popolar
leader—- Seizure of the fort bj the Leislerian party— Committee of Safety appointed—
Seizure <Mr the CoiBtom Honse— Impotent reaistance of Nicholson and Ids party— Flight
of Nicholson to England— Leisler appointed Commander-in-Chief— Fortificatton of the
city— Pieter Delanoy. Kayor— Two mayors— Letter of Bayard to the train-bands of
New York— War on the northern frontiers— Expedition of Milbome to Albany— Arri-
val of instmctions from England— Xicisler assumes the title of Lieutenant Goyemor —
Arrest of Bayard— Massacre at Schenectady— Leisler acknowledged by the Albicans
-Expedition against Canada— Henry Sloughter appointed Governor- Arrival of Mi^or
Ingoldsby- Berasal of Leisler to surrender the fort— Arrival of Sloughter— His reoep-
tlon by the anti-Leislerian party— Arrest of Leisler and Milbome— J^ohn Lawrence
appointed Mayor— Trial of the Prisoners— Execution of Leisler and Milbome— Snbse*
quent reyersal of the act of attainder— Assembly of 1691— Supreme Court instituted—
Abraham De Peyster. Mayor— Pine and Cedar streets Uiid out- Support of public
Saupers assumed by ^e city— South Dutch Church built in Garden Nreet— Death of
loughter, 219—246
CHAPTEE VIII.
1692—1702.
Bei^amln Fletcher, Governor— Change in the Council— Threatened repeal of the Bolting
Act— Unavailing opposition of the Corporation— Repeal of the monopoly— First news-
paper established m New York— Church diflSculties— The Episcopal Church the estab-
ushed church of the province— Trinity Church erected— King's Farm donated to it by'
Queen Anne— Chapels of the church— Indian afBiira— Piratical dcDredations— Fletcher
recalled and Lora Bellamont appointed his successor— William Merrit. Mavor— Mea-
sures for the suppression of piracy— The Adventure Galley— Captain Kidd— His his-
tory and friture career— Arrest and execution of Kidd— New City Hall erected in Wall
street— Sale of the old Stadt-Huys— Streets lighted for the first time— Fire wardens
appointed by the corporation— Scarcity of bread in the city— Johannes De Peyster,
Mayor— Assembly of 1699— Bemains of Leisler and Melbome disinterred and reburied
in the church in Garden street— Efforts for the renewal of the Bolting Act— David
Provost, Mayor— New market-houses— Hospital for paupers established in the citv—
Lease of the ferry— Ferrv rates— Isaac De Riemer Mayor— Visit of Bellamont to Bos-
ton—His death and burial in the chapel in the forW^ohn Nanfan, Lieutenant Govemor
— ^Bemoval and Impeachment of Robert Livingston— The Noell election— Arrest of
Bayard — ^Arrival of Xiord Corabury as Govemor, and subsequent change in the aspect
of afBOrs, 7 246-268
CHAPTEE IX.
1702—1720.
Character and antecedents of Combury— His instmctions from Queen Anne— Indian
Lawa— Market for Slaves in Wall street— DifBculties with the negroes— Reception of
Combury by the Corporation — First free grammar school established in the city — ^Yel-
low fever in New York— Panic among the Citizens— Removal of Combury to Jamaica
—Religious persecution— Trinity cemeterydonated to the chorcb— Purchase by Trinity
Churcn of the nroperty of Aneke Jans— War proclaimed against France and Spain-
Fortification of the City— Poll tax instituted— Assembly of 1715— Despotism of Com-
bury—Relig[ious persecution and imprisonment of the clergy— His recall and subse-
quent imprisonment by his creditors — Progress of the city- Philip French, Mayor —
William Peartree, Mayor— French Church built in Pine street by the Hogueoots— Set-
tlement of the Huguenots on Staten Island— Riot of privateersmen- Ebenezer Wilson,
Mayor— Broadway paved for the first time— New ferry lease granted to James Hard-
ing-Arrival of Lord Lovelace as Governor — Conduct of the Assembly— Death of
the Govemor— Gerardus Beekman at the head of aflkirs— Robert Hunter, Govemor-^
/ Commencement of German immigration— The Palatines— Lutheran Church built in
Broadway— Lewis Morris of Morrisania— Hostile expedition against Canadsr-First
negro plot in the city— Peace of Utrecht— Contest between the Govemor and Assem
VIU CONTENTS.
bly— Institution of a Conrt of Clutncery— Betnrn of Honter to England— Oovenunent
administered bv Peter Schnyler-^acobos Van Cortiandt, Mayor— Progress of the
city— Monicipal ordinances of the administration of Honter— Caleb Heathcote, Mayor
—His history and antecedents— Alms House and House of Correction erected in the
Commons— James Johnston, Mayor— First public clock in the city— Presbyterian
Church erected in Wall street— First ropewalk boilt in Broadway-^acobns Yan Cor-
landt, Mayor— Aniyal of William Bnmet as Goyemor, 269—302
CHAPTEE X.
172«— 1732.
Marriage of the Goyemor to a lady of New York- Debnt of CadwaOader Colden in poli-
tical af&irs— Glance at affairs on the northern and western frontiers— Policy of Bnmet
• — ^Abolition of the circnitoos trade— Opposition of the merchants— Openinff of the fiir
trade to priyate enterprise— Cong^ress of Goyeraors at Albany— ^Di£Bcnlties in the^
French church in Pine street— Contest between Burnet and ihe Assembly— Bnmet
superseded by John Montgomerio— Robert Walters, Major— Municipal ordinances of
his administration— Johannes Jansen, Mayor— Bobert Lurting, Mayor— The Montgo-
merie Charter granted to the city— Middle Dutch Church built in Nassau street— Jew's
Burial ground established in Chatham street— Powder House built in an island in the
Collect — Greenwich and Washington streets constructed— ^Line of stages established
between New York and Philadelphia— Foot post to Albany— First public library of the
city— Markets of the city— The White Hall— The Bowling Green— The Commons— The
Vineyard— The Collect— The Swamp— The Bhoemaker*s Land— VanderclitTs Orchard —
The '* Bowery "—The Lantberg Hills— Minetta Brook— Crummashie Hill— The Incleu-
berg— Bayard's Mount— Corlaer's Hook — Potter's Hill— Wolfert's Marsh— The King's
Farm — City divided into seven wards — Fire engines introduced into the city— First
organization of a Fire Department— Death of Montgomerie — Bip Yan Dam assumes
the charge of afihirs— Arrival of William Cosby as Govemor, 303—328
CHAPTER XI.
1732-1741.
Character of Cosby— His controversy with Bip Van Dam— Suit instituted in the Exche-
quer-Its result— Chief Justice Morris removed from oflSce and James De Lancey ap^
pointed in his stead— Public Sentiment— Publication of Zenger's Weekly Journal —
First newspaper controversy in the city— Zenger's paper ordered to be pubucly burned
—Refusal of the Mayor and Corporation to witness the ceremony— Zenger imprisoned
on a charge of libel— Artifices of the accusing party— Smith and Alexander removed
from the bar— Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelmiiaf retained as counsel for Zenger—
Trial of S^ncer in the City Hall in Wall street— Eloquent defence of Hamilton— Acquit-
tal of the prisoner— Pubbc rejoicings— The freedom of the citpr presented to Hamilton
by the Corporation — ^Inconsistency of the municipal authorities — Freedom of the city .
presented to the brother and son-m-law of the Governor, together with Lord Augustus
Fitzroy— Secret marriage of the latter to ^le Governor's daughter— Death of Cosby—
Previous suspension of van Dam from the Council— Contest between Clark and Van
Dam— Clark appointed Lieutenant-Governor— His acts and policy— Smith and Alexan-
der restored to the bar— Disfranchisement of the Jews— Retrospect of city afihirs— First
Poor House erected on the Commons— Cortiandt street opened — ^Paul Richard, Mayor
—Commencement of the Battery on Whitehall Rocks— Extension of Water street —
Rector street opened— Quarantine at Bedloe's Island— John Cruger, Mayor— Market-
house built in Broadway opposite Liberty street— Hard winter of 1740-41— Snow six
fee* on a level— The approaching catastrophe, 329—354
CHAPTEE XII.
1741—1763.
The negro plot of 1741— Causes and eflfects— Robbery at the house of Hogg— Arrest of
Hughson and his associates— Buildings in the fort destroyed by fire — Successiye con;
flagrations — ^The Spanish negroes— Suspicion and arrest of the slaves — ^Trial of the
pSoners— Confession of Peggy Carey— Further arrests— Execution of Prince and
CONTENTS. IX
Cssai^Ezecntioii of Hoghson, his wife and Peggy Carey— Progress of the trials—
Uniyersal panic — ^More executions — Proclamation of Pardon and reward to confessing
conspirators—More accusations— Trial and condemnation of John Urv-^Other whites
accused by Mary Burtour-Stay of proceedings— Review of the plot— Yellow fever in
New York— George Clinton arrives as Oovemor— Proceedings of the Assembly— New
war with France— Stephen Bayard, Mavor-^^ing's College proposed— Edward Hol-
landf Mayor— Opening of Beekman and the contiguous streets— Moravian Chapel built
in Fulton street— First Merchants' Exchange erected in the city— St George's Chapel
bnat in Beekman street— Dissensions between the Governor and Assembly— Outrase
by the captain of the Greyhound— Popnhur indignation— Besignation of Clintoi^-Sir
Danvers Osbom appointed Governor— His arrival and reception— His suicide and
Bnrial-^ames Do Lancey Lieutenant-Governor, 356—380
CHAPTER XIII.
1753— 1763,
Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey— Position of the two great parties of the province— De
Lancey's policy— The third intercolonial war— Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle— Congress at
Albany— Charter of King's College signed and sealed by the governor— Controversy
between the Episcopalians and Presbyterians— City journals : The Post Boy, Weekly
Mercury, and Independent Beflector— Society Library founded— Walton House built in
/ Pearl street— Ferry between New York and Staten Island— Peck Slip opened— New war
between England and France— Fortification of the city— Sir Charles Hardy. Governor
— He returns to England— De Lancey again Lieotenant-Govemor— John Cruger, jr.,
Mayor— The Corporation and Lord Loudon — ^Progress of the French and Indian War-
Conquest of Canada— Death of De Lancey— Cadwallader Colden, Lieutenant-Govern or—
J Attempted impressment in New York harbor— Visit of General Amherst to New York
—His reception by the municipal authorities— Death of George IL, and accession of
George HL— Theatre opened in Beekman street— Bobert Monckton, Governor— His
reception by the Corporation— Position of public aiBurs— Departure of Monckton for
Martinique — His return— The citv lighted at public expense — ^Assize of provisions—
Dr. Cooper, second president or King's College— Progress of the Institution— Early
s/ graduates— Sandy Hook lighthouse first lighted— Jersey City ferry established— Tra-
velling accommodations of olden times— Methodist Church built in John street— Riot
of the British soldiers— Besignation of Monckton— His return to England— Cadwallader
Colden at the head of the Government, 381—404
CHAPTEE XIV.
1763—1769.
The American Colonies at the beginning of the Bevolution— Policy of Great Britain-
Navigation Acts— Proposed scheme of parliamentary taxation— Lord Grenville at the
head of the British Caoinet— Stamp Act proposed— Protest of the New York Assem-
bly-Passage of the Stamp Act— Reception of the news in the city— The Sons of Lib-
erty—Constitutional Courant published— AflliEdr of the Garland— Impressment of the
Fishermen— First colonial Congress held in New York— Opposition of Colden— Declara-
tion of rights and grievances— Journals of New York— Holt's Gazette and Post-Boy—
^ Meeting of the Merchants at Barns' Coffee House— The non-intercourse agreement-
Committee of Correspondence— Arrival of the stamps— Resignation of McEvers, the
Stamp Distributor of New York — Stamps received by Colden— Riots of the 1st of No-
vember—Colden burnt in eflSgy on the Bowling Green— Prochunation of Colden— Dell-
very of the Stamps to the Mayor and Corporation — Fair established for the sale of
home manufactures — ^Plan of union proposed by the Committee of Correspondence —
Address to General Gage— Whig and Tory— Arrival of Sir Hemr Moore ss Governor-
Captain Jacobson— Stamps for Connecticut burned by the Sons of Liberty— Lewis
Pintard— First stamp brought into the city f^om Canada^Its reception bv the citizens
—Grenville, Colville, and Murray burned in efiigy on the Commons— Repeal of the
Stamp Act— First liberty pole erected on the Commons— Statues of Pitt and George III.
—Battles around the liberty pole— Outrages of the British soldiery— Whitehead Hicks,
Mayor— New York Assembly of 1761-1768— The Mutiny Act— Contest between the
Governor and Assembly- Disfhmchisement of New York by the British Parliament—
i/Tax on tea— Spirited action of the Sons of Liberty— Patriotism of the New York mer-
chants—Formal dissolution of the Assembly— A new one convened— Disposition of the
new Assembly— Sympathy with the Bostonians — Burning of the Governor and Sheriff
of Boston in effigy on the Commons— Death of Moore and consequent accession of
Cadwallader Colden, 405-442
X CONTENTS.
OHAPTEE XV.
1769—1773.
DiBposition of the Assemblj of 176^— Emission of BOIb of Credit— HandbiHa posted
denoQDcinff the Assembly- Meeting on the Commons— Public protest— John Lamb
charged with libel, and subsequently dismissed— Arrest and imprisonment of Alexan-
der MoDougall— Movements of the Sons of liberty— Lord North at the head of the
British Cabinet— Tax removed from all articles except tea— Attack of the British sol-
diers on the liberty pole— Conflict at Montague's— Fourth liberty pole cut down by
the soldiers— Indignation meeting on the Commons— Battle of Golden Hill— Defeat or
the British soldiers— Permission to erect a liberty pole refosed to the citizens by the
Mayor and Corporation— Fifth liberty pole erected on private property by the Sons
of Liberty— Purchase of Hampden Hall oy the Liberty Party-^ew attack on the lib-
erty pole by the British soldiers— Their defeat— Final destiny of the liberty pole—
yj Nathan Boffers burnt in eflSgy on the Commons— Committee of One Hundred— Be-
sumption of importations— Protest of the Sons of Liberty— Lord Dunmore arrives as
Governor— Trial of McDougall— William Tryon appointed Governor— New arrange-
ments in respect to the salaries of officials— Sears removed from oflSce, to give place
to Montague— New York Hospital founded— Bumhig of the Governor's house in the
fort, : 443-466
CHAPTEK XVI.
1773—1776.
Scheme of Parliament for forcing the tea on the colonies— Beception of the news in New
York— Besolutions of the Mohawks and liberty Boys— Apprehensions of the London
merchants— Meeting of the Sons of Liberty on the 16th of December— The people
resolve to receive no tea— Tryon returns to England— Colden again at the head of tiie
government— Arrival of the tea ship Nancy— Her reception by the Sons of Liberty—
/ Captain Chambers of the London arrives with tea— The New York tea-party- Public
leave-taUng of the captains of the tea-ships— The Boston Port Bill— Visrt of Paul
Severe to New York— Proposition to renew the non-importation agreement— Dissent
of the Conunittee of Fifty-one— Great meeting in the fields— D^but of Alexander
Hamilton— Second Coloniar Congress at PhiladeTphia^-Election of the New York dele-
gates—Committee of Sixty appointed in the city— The James of Glasgow sent back to
England by the Ylgilance Committee— First Provincial Congress assembles in New
York— The Asia stationed before the town— Boards destined for the barracks at Bos-
ton seized by the Sons of Liberty— News of the battle of Lexington— Vigorous mea-
sures of the Sons of Liberty— jCommittee of Safe^ organized and preparations made
for defence— Seizure of military stores at Turtle Bay— ^Commencement of open hostili-
ties—Washington appointed Commander-in-Chief- HlsvisittoNew York and reception
bv the Provincial Congress— Return of Tryon— The Asia fires upon the town— Abdica-
tion of Tryon— Bivington's Gazette demolished by the Sons of Liberty— General
Putnam in command at New York— Ideas of Independence — " Common Sense " —
*' Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress "—Reception of the news
in the city— Washington in New York— Battle of Longlsland— Retreat of Washington
from New York— Capture of Fort Washington— The British in possession of the
city, 466—609
CHAPTER XVII.
1776—1783.
The British in New York— Gen. Howe, Commander-in-Chief— Prisons of the Revolution—
The North Dutch Church— Brick Church in Beekman street— Friends' Meeting House
—French Church in Pine street— Middle Dutch Church— Reminiscences of John Pin-
tard— Old sugar bouse in Liberty street— Bridewell— New Jail— Reminiscences of John
Pintard, Levi Hanford and others— The prison ships— The old Jersey, Scorpion, Fal-
mouth and others— Freneau*8 Poem on the Prison Ship— Conflagration of 1776— Death
of Cadwallader Colden — Burning of the house of Oliver De Lancey — Journals of Uie
City— Arrest and imprisonment of Gen. Lee— First constitution of the State of New
CONTENTS. XI
York— Gen, Clinton, Governor— Aid from Prance— Valley Forge— Cabala ajjainst
Washington thwarted by the Action of the New York delegation— Count d'Estamg at
New York— Conflagration of 1778— David Mathews, Mayor— Knyphaoaen in command
at New York— Cold winter of 1789-90— Treason of Arnold— His residence in the city
— ^Project for his abduction by Champe— Capture of Comwallis— Clinton superseded
by Sir Guy Carleton — Conclusion of peace between the United States and Great
v^Britain— Evacuation by the British troops of the city of New York, 510—568
CHAPTER XYIII.
1783-1801.
Mutilation of the flag staff by the British troops previously to the evacuation— Gen.
Knox, Commander-in-Chief at the fort — ^Parting of Washington with his officers at
(Vaunces' Tavern in Pearl street — Municipal Government reorganized — James Duane,
Mayor— Departure of Lafayette for France— Visit of Jay, Washington, and Steuben—
Their public reception by the civic authorities — ^The city at the close of the Revolution
— Improvement of the Collect — ^The Commons — First sidewalks in the city— Streets
numbered by order of the Corporation — The Doctors* Mob — Articles of Confedera-
tion— ^National Convention — Federal Constitution proposed — ^Popular opposition— The
"French Party" — State Convention at Poughkeepsie — Federal procession in New
York — Adoption of the Federal Constitution — Riots in the city — Destruction of the
oifice of the " Patriotic Register "—John Lamb's house in Wall street attacked by the
rioters— City of New York the seat of the federal government— City Hall repaired—
Wuhington and Adams elected President and Vice-President — Their arrival and re-
ception oy the public authorities — Washington inaugurated in the Federal Hall in Wall
street— Arrival of Mrs. Washington— Washmgton in New York — John Street Theatre—
** Hail Columbia'*— Style of address— Illness of Washington— First session of Congress
—Bunker's Mansion House — Second session of Congress — Assumption of State debts —
Removal of tlie Capital to the District of Columbia— Visit of the Creek deputation to
the city — Alexander McGillivray — Treaty concluded between Washington and the
Chiefs — Col. Richard Varick, Mayor- War between France and England— Arrival of
Genet — ^His reception by the citizens — Proclamation of neutrality — Arrival of the
Ambuscade— Engagement with the Boston— The French fleet— Genet in New York—
His marriage at the Walton House and subsequent recall— The Jay Treaty— Yellow
fever in the city— Politics of the city at the close of the eighteenth century, 569-— 614
CHAPTER XIX.
1801.
New York in the beginning of tlie nineteenth century— Bounds of the city— Roads— Pot-
ter*B Field — Pubho gardens — Countrv seats — Richmond Hill Mansion — The Van Nesa
House— Chelsea^Murray Hill — The Varian House — The Apthorpe House— The Granffo
— The Beekman House — Madame Jumel's — ^The Belvidere — Fraunces' Tavern — The
Kennedy House — Bunker's Mansion House — State Prison— Penitentiary— Belle vue
establishment — Bridewell — New Jail — House of Refuse — New York Hospital-— New
York Dispensary — Columbia College — Benevolent Institutions — Tontine Association —
Religions Associations — Churches of New York in the beginning of the nineteenth
century — Primitive manners and customs of the Reformed Dutch Church — Society
Library— Custom House— Post Office— Banks— Theatres — Newspapers — Markets —
y Ferries— Ship yards— Fire Department— Militia— Manners and customs, 615—662
CHAPTEE XX.
1801-1825.
The Manhattan Water Works— City Hall erected in the Park— De Witt Clinton, Mayor-
Politics of the city— Duel of Hamilton and Burr— Foundation of the Historical Society
— ^Pire of 1804— Public School Societv— Steam Navigation— Fulton and Livingston— The
/ Clermont— Ferries between New i ork and Brooklyn— Steam ferry-boats— Marinua
Willet, Mayor— St. John's Chapel erected— Jacob Radcllff, Mayor— Interment of tho
Xll CONTENTS.
remains of the prison-ship martyrs— Fire of 1811— New York Island snrvejed and
V laid out— War of 1812— Meetings in the Park— Harbor fortiflcationB— Preparations for
defence— Close of the War— Politics of the city— Cadwallader D. Colden, Mayor-
Stephen Allen, Mayor— William Paulding, Mayor— Visit of tiafayette to New York—
The Erie Canal Gelebratioi^— Death of De Witt Clinton, 663—722
OHAPTEK XXI.
1825—1865.
Introduction of gas into the city— Joint stock companies — Financial panic of 1826— The
Italian Opera— The Garcia Tronpe— Introduction of marble as a bnllding material-
Merchants' Exchange built in wall street— Anti-Masonic Excitement— Walter Bowne,
Mayor— Amended Charter of 1830 — Politics of the city— Gideon Lee, Mayor—
Cholera of 1832-Joumaliam in the city— Establishment of the Penny press— The
Moon Hoax— Cornelias W. Lawrence^ Mayor— Great fire of 1835— Financial panic of
1837— Aaron Clark, Mayor— Isaac L. Yarian, Mayor— Robert H. Morris, Mayor-
Steamships Sirius and Great Western— Introduction of the Croton into the city— First
Magnetic Telegraph Line— Fire of 1845— James Harper, Mayor— Politics in the city-
Mayors Havemeyer, 3iickle, Brady and Woodhull — Amended Charter of 1849— Astor
Place Opera House Biot— Ambrose C. Eingsland, Mayor— Jenny Lind in New York —
Arrival of Kossuth^-Jacob A. Westervelt, Mayor— The Crystal Palace— Franconi's
Hippodrome— New York in 1865, 723—753
CHAPTER XXII.
1865—1869.
Fernando Wood, Major— Opening events of his administration— The Central Park-
Financial panic of 1857— Suspension of the Banks— Meetings of workingmen in the
Park— The Cable celebration— Burning of the City Hall— Amended Charter of 1857—
Daniel F. Tiemann, Mayor— City and County government— Suburbs of the city— New
York in 1859, 764—792
Appendix, 793
Index, 837
Sht fff lllttstrathns.
1— HENRY HUDSON.
2S— LISPENARD*S MEADOWS (in the heart of which now stAndi the St Nicholas
Hotel).
84-HALF MOON ASC5ENDING THE RIVER.
46— THE COUNCIL AT TAWASENTHA, IN 1617.
62— SEAL OP NEW AMSTERDAM.
69— WRATH OP VAN TWILLER.
89— NIEUW NEDERLANDT (supposed to be the Earliest View of New ToA now
extant).
1C4— INDIANS BRINGING TRIBUTE.
118— MASSACRE OF INDLiNS AT PAVONLi.
98— OLD HOUSE, comer Peck Slip and Water street
128— PETER STUTVESANT, the last of the Dutch Goyemort.
97— STADT HUTS (erected in 1642).
129— SEAL OP PETER STUTVESANT.
140— SEAL OF NEW NETHERLAND, 1625—1664.
168— THE OLD STUTVESANT PEAR-TREE (now standing).
164— TOMB OP PETER STUTVESANT.
169— OLD LUTHERAN CHURCH (erected about 1764).
162— FIRST ENGLISH SEAL OF THE PROVINCK
174— NEW TORE IN 1674.
176— HOUSEHOLD IN THE OLD DUTCH COLONT TIMES.
177— DUTCH GROCERT IN BROAD STREET.
196— PORTRAIT OF SANTA CLAUS, the Patron Saint of New Amsterdam.
208— DUTCH COTTAGE IN BEAVER STJIEET IN 1679.
218— CITT SEAL OF 1686.
242— RESIDENCE OF N. W. STUTVESANT.
248— OLD GARDEN STREET CHURCH (erected In 1696).
268— THE STUTVESANT MANSION. #
XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
rAas
282-.FREN0H CHURCH IN PINE STREET (erected in 1710).
296— PORTRAIT OF AUGUSTUS JAY.
299-.PORTRAIT OF CALEB HEATHCOTE.
304— PORTRAIT OF CADWALLADER COLDEN.
817— MIDDLE DUTCH CHURCH (now the Post-office) IN OLDEN TIMB.
816— OLD SUGAR-HOUSE IN LIBERTY STREET.
825— OLD RUTGERS* MANSION, at the junction of East Broadway and Dirision
street.
848_OLD FERRY-HOUSE, corner of Broad and Garden streets.
861--OLD BROOKLYN FERRY-HOUSE OF 1746.
849— RHINELANDER'S SUGAR-HOUSE AND RESIDENCE.
871-PORTRAIT OF SIR GEORGE CLINTON.
871— PORTRAIT OF LADY CLINTON.
874-ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL IN BEEKMAN STREET (erected in 1752).
877— KING'S COLLEGE.
886— THE WALTON HOUSE AS IT NOW STANDS.
888— ENTRANCE HALL OF THE WALTON HOUSE.
889— SITTING-ROOM IN THE SECOND STORY OF THE WALTON HOUSE.
408— BRICK MEETING-HOUSE IN BEEKMAN STREET.
401— METHODIST CHURCH IN JOHN STREET (erected in 1785) IN THE
OLDEN TIME.
416— ATLANTIC GARDEN HOUSE (Barns* Coffee-House).
488— BATTERY AND BOWLING GREEN DURING THE REVOLUTION.
468— NEW YORK HOSPITAL (erected in 1773).
476— PORTRAIT OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
490— WASHINGTON'S HEAD-QUARTERS IN FRANKLIN SQUARE.
628— BRIDEWELL (erected in 1789).
627— NEW JAIL.
646— PORTRAIT OF JOHN JAY.
659— PRIVATE ROOM OF SIR HENRY CLINTON, No, 1 BROADWAY.
671— DININGJ-ROOM IN FRAUNCES' TAVERN, comer of Pearl and Brood Sts.
677— STONE BRIDGE ON THE CORNER OF BROADWAY AND CANAL
STREET IN 1812.
598— FEDERAL HALL AND THE VERPLANCK MANSION.
620— MURRAY HILL COTTAGE.
626— THE TOMBS.
628— COLUMBIA COLLEGE, at the foot of Park Place.
661— THE BIBLE HOUSE, in Elgbth street.
685— DR. MACAULEY'S CHURCH, corner of Fifth Ayenne and Twenty-firrt
street.
689— REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, in Lafayette Place.
641— REFOIUIED DUTCH CHURCH, corner of Fifth Ayenae and Tweoty-ninth
•treet.%
LIST OF ILLUSTBATIONS. XV
. TMmn
649^FIBST FRESBTTEBIAN CHUBCH, Fifth Ayeoae.
651 ^DR. ALEXANDER'S CHURCH, corner of Fifth Ayenae and Nlnetaenth
street
658_FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, comer of Broome and Elisabeth streets.
654— ST. PATRICE'S CATHEDRAL, corner of Mott and Prince streets.
657— THE OLD PARK THEATER
658— THE AMERICAN MUSEUM.
665— RBSERYOm OF MANHATTAN WATER-WORKS, in Chambers St, 1825.
667-CITT HALL AND PARK.
671— THE GRANGE, Khigsbridge Road, Residence of Alex. HamOton.
675— CALVARY CHURCH, comer of Twenty-first street and Fourth Ayenne.
677— FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL-HOUSE ERECTED IN NEW TORE.
679— FREE ACADEMY.
681— ROBERT FULTON.
68a— THE "CLERMONT"— FULTON'S FIRST STEAMBOAT.
694— CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION, comer of Fifth Avc^ae and Tenth street
707-ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL.
711— TOMB OF MONTGOMERY, in wall of St Paul's ChapeL
727— ACADEMY OF MUSia
780— THE NEW YORK UNIVERSITY.
785— CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH, in Broadway.
742— WALL STREET (looking toward Broadway).
746-aiGH BRIDGE.
747— CROTON RESERVOIR.
750— INTERIOR OF CASTLE GARDEN IN FORMER TIMES.
752— CRYSTAL PALACE.
757 761— VIEWS OF THE CENTRAL PARK.
765— CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION.
769— ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL, in Third street street
778— NEW YORK FROM WILLIAMSBURG.
776— VIEW FROM THE PARE.
777— ALL SOULS CHURCH, comer of Fourth Arenne and Twentieth street
779— CUSTOM HOUSR
780— LOWER ARSENAL.
781— MERCHANT'S EXCHANGE.
788r-OOOPEE INSTTTUTfi.
645— TRINITY CHURCH, Broadway.
647— GRACE CHURCH, Broadway.
'X
/
PEEFACE.
The preparation of this work was first suggested by
the need of collecting the floating facts relative to the
history and growth of our city, and condensing them
into a compact form for the use of the general reader.
In the short space of two himdred and fifty years, New
York has sprung up, as it were, by magic, from a hamlet
of four wretched huts, into the commercial metropolis of
the western hemisphere. The many changes that have
occurred during this time have been noted by lovers of
their native city, who have made collections from time
to time of facts and incidents invaluable to the historian ;
yet these are scattered among numerous volumes, where
few have time to seek and unearth them. Histories of
the State also abound ; but there is not a single history
of the city of New York from its earliest settlement to
the present time.
It has been the aim of the writer in the present work
to remedy this deficiency in part, by collecting those
important local facts most likely to interest the general
reader, and embodying them in a continuous history of
the foundation and growth of the city. It cannot be sup-
posed that all the curious and interesting events of the
past have thus been noticed — ^the task would swell vol-
umes to so formidable a size that they would terrify the
public, and thus defeat their own object — but it is hoped
that nothing of essential importance has been omitted,
and that the record given will be found authentic.
Especial care has been taken to verify facts and dates
by the best authorities, and nothing has been admitted
xril
XVIU PREFACE.
which has not first been authenticated by reliable testi-
mony.
The plan of the work embraces the history of New
York city from the earliest Dutch settlement to the
present time. In the beginning, when the histories of
the city and the province are inseparable, this necessarily
includes the history of the early settlements on the Long
Island, New Jersey, and adjacent shores; Later, it is
confined to the city alone, retaining so much of the his-
tory of the State as is necessary to preserve the thread
of the narrative unbroken, and to give the reader a
comprehension of the general state of affairs. Especial
care has been taken to collect the incidents of the Revo-
lution, in which the city bore so prominent a part, and
which are fast growing dim in the minds of the citizens.
In this, the writer begs leave to acknowledge the kind-
ness of several distinguished citizens, lineal descendants
of our oldest families, who have furnished valuable
documents and information, which have been of essential
aid in the preparation of the work. Thanks are also
due to the courtesy of the various city librarians, who
have cheerfully rendered all the assistance in their power
to the necessary investigations. Among the authors
consulted have been Brodhead, Valentine, Bancroft,
Hildreth, O'Callaghan, Irving, Smith, Dunlap, Moulton,
Leake, Hardie, Watson, Horsmanden, and Heckewelder,
to whom, with many others, of whose information the
author has availed herself, she tenders cordial acknow-
ledgments. For many of the designs in the work, she
is indebted to the courtesy of David T. Valentine, and
William J. Davis, Esqs.
There is certainly too great an indifference prevailing
in respect to the memories of our city. But few vestiges
of the past remain to us, and even these few are
unheeded. In the hurry of business, our citizens pass
and repass the grave of Stuyvesant and the tomb of
Montgomery, unconscious of their locality. The busy
New Yorkers throng the Post-oiffice, without bestowing
a thought upon its eventful history ; the Park, the cradle
of the Revolution, is to them a park, and no more ; the
PREFACE. XIX
Bowling Green, where the Dutch lads and lasses erected
their May-pole and danced around it, and where, at a
later date, the patriotic citizens kindled bonfires in
honor of liberty with stamp acts and royal eflfigies, is
almost forgotten in the upward course of the tide of
business ; and the Battery, with Castle Garden, has
fallen into the hands of the Conmiissioners of Emi-
gration. We are more remiss than our neighboring
cities. Boston never forgets to commemorate the
anniversary of her tea-party ; few New Yorkers know
even that a similar tea-party was held one night
in their own harbor. Boston does not forget her
** Massacre ;" New York is oblivious of her battle of
Golden Hill, her fierce contests around the liberty-pole,
and her thousands of victims from the pestilential prison-
ships. The traditions of our Dutch ancestry are well-
nigh forgotten, and little remains of the once strongly-
marked individuaUty of our city. It is true that the
influence still lingers ; that the broad, cosinopolitan
character, the liberal, ^x)lerant spirit, and the genial,
hospitable nature ingrafted on the city by its ear!!y
settlers,' still remain to it. It is true, too, that, as a
general rule, New Yorkers think less of men than they
do of deeds, and, provided that a thing is done, pay
Uttle heed to the means that conduced to its accomplish-
ment. Yet this is in danger of being carried too far
when it renders them forgetful of those memorials which
it should be the pride and the glory of every people to
cherish.
If this work avail in any way to bring these records
of the past before the minds of the citizens and inspire
them with a love for their native or adopted city, it will
answer the purpose for which it is designed. Much time
and labor have been bestowed on its preparation ; to
what eflfect the public must decide. To their verdict, it
is respectfully submitted,
Kbw Tosi^ June Ut, 1809.
HISTORY
OV TBM
CITY OF NEW YOEK.
CHAPTER I.
1609—1633.
Primitiye New York— Aborigines of Manhattan— Causes which led to the Disooyery of
the Island— Early Navigators— Discovery of Manhattan by Henry Hudson— Landing
of the first White Men.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, the island on which
now stands the city of New York was uninhabited by
white men. The lower part of it consisted of wood-
crowned hills and beautiful grassy valleys, including a
chain of swamps and marshes, and a deep pond. North-
ward, it rose into a rocky high ground. The sole
inhabitants were a tribe of dusky Indians, — an ofiF-shoot
from the great nation of the Lenni Lenape, who
inhabited the vast territory bounded by the Penobscot
and Potomac, the Atlantic and Mississippi, — dweUing in
the clusters of rude wigwams that dotted here and there
the surface of the country. The rivers that gird the
22 HISTOBYOFTHE
island were as yet unstirred by the keels of ships, and
the bark canoes of the native Manhattans held sole pos-
session of the peaceful waters.
The face of the country, more particularly described,
was gently undulating, presenting every variety of hill
and dale, of brook and rivulet. The upper part of the
island was rocky, and covered by a dense forest ; the
lower part grassy, and rich in wild fruit and flowers.
Grapes and strawberries grew in abundance in the fields,
and nuts of various kinds were plentiful in the forests,
which were also filled with abundance of game. The
brooks and ponds were swarming with fish, and the soil
was of luxuriant fertility. In the vicinity of the present
** Tombs " was a deep, clear and beautiful pond of fresh
water, (with a picturesque little island in the middle) — ^so
deep, indeed, that it could have floated the largest
ship in. our navy, — which was for a long time deemed
bottomless by its possessors. This was fed by large
springs at the bottom, which kept its waters fresh and
flowing, and had its outlet in a little stream which flowed
into the East River, near the foot of James street.
Smaller ponds dotted the island in various places, two
of which, lying near each other, in the vicinity of the
present corner of the Bowery and Grand street, collected
the waters of the high grounds which surrounded them.
To the northwest of the Fresh Water Pond, or Kolck,
as it afterwards came to be called, beginning in the
vicinity of the present St. John's Park, and extending
to the northward over an area of some seventy acres,
lay an immense marsh, filled with reeds and brambles,
and tenanted by frogs and water-snakes. A little
CITY OF NEW YORK,
23
CITY OP NEW YORK. 25
rivulet connected this marsh with the Fresh Water Pond,
which was also connected, by the stream which formed
its outlet, with another strip of marshy land, covering
the region now occupied by James, Cherry, and the
adjacent streets. An unbroken chain of waters was thus
stretched across the island from James street at the
southeast to Canal street at the northwest. 'An inlet
occupied the place of Broad street, a marsh covered the
vicinity of Ferry street, Rutgers street formed the cen-
tre of another marsh, and a long line of meadows and
swampy ground stretched to the northward along the
eastern shore.
The highest line of lands lay along Broadway from
the Battery to the northernmost part of the island,
forming its back-bone, and sloping gradually to the east
and west. On the corner of Grand street and Broadway
was a high hill, commanding a view of the whole island,
and falling off gradually to the Fresh Water Pond. To
the south and west, the country, in the intervals of the
marshes, was of great beauty — ^rolling, grassy, fertile,
and well watered. A high range of sand hills traversed
a part of the island, from Varick and Charlton to Eighth
and Greene streets. To the north of these lay a valley,
through which ran a brook, which formed the outlet
of the springy marshes at Washington Square, and
emptied into the North River at the foot of Hammersly
street.
The native Manhattans belonged to that well-known
race of North American Indians, the manners and cus-
toms of which have been made too familiar by repeated
lescriptions to require a detailed notice at our hands.
26 HISTORTOFTHE
<
These were the same in outline among all the tribes ;
the chief difference lay in the individual character, and
in this there was a marked distinction. One tribe was
peaceful and gentle ; another, fierce and warlike ; a third,
treacherous and cunning. The natives of the island of
Manhattan were distinguished for their ferocity, in con-
trast witii their peaceful brethren of the neighboring
shores. They lived in plenty on their beautiful island,
the women cultivating maize, pumpkins, beans, and
tobacco, and gathering the roots and berries which
Nature so abundantly yielded ; the men scouring the
forests in quest of game, and drawing stores of fish from
the ponds and rivers. Their villages were scattered
here and there in pleasant localities over the island —
villages consisting of clusters of huts, made by twisting
the tops of young saplings together, and covering them
with strips of bark. Windowless and floorless were
they, with boughs for doors, and a hole in the roof to let
out the smoke. Yet each of these structures usually
accommodated from six to thirty families, who lived in
peaceful harmony together.
Like most savages, they were fond of dress, and
shaved their crowns, painted their faces, and adorned
their deer-skin mantles and moccasins with feathers,
shells, and wampum, in the most approved style. This
wampmn, which served as a circulating medium among
them, and afterwards became a recognized currency
among the whites, consisted of small cylindrical beads,
HMwie from the white lining of the conch and the purple
coating inside the muscle-shells — ^the purple beads being
worth twice as much as the white ones.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 27
In common with their race, thfey were eloquent ora-
tors, trusty friends, crafty enemies, brave warriors, and
cruel victors. Though at first disposed to receive their
white visitors with favor and to treat them kindly, it
was not long before their own jealous nature, together
with the ever-present spirit of European encroachment,
brought on the usual warfare, in which Indian sagacity
and cunning was forced to succumb to the superior skill
of the white man.
Let us glance briefly at the causes which led to the
discovery of this vast and hitherto unknown region. At
the period of which we speak, more than a century had
elapsed since Columbus had first unlocked the door of
the new continent, yet little was known of it in the old
world beyond the bare fact of its existence. Its
geography was wholly unknown to its new possessors.
Its possible resources were totally disregarded ; in itself
it was regarded as a thing of httle value, and the chief
utility of the new discovery was supposed to lie in the
easy communication which it might afford to the rich
countries of the East. Now and then an adventurous
navigator sailed along the coasts, landing here and there
and erecting a flagstaff, and thus taking possession of
the country in the name of his sovereign ; yet but few
attempts at exploration had been made, and these few
had proved, for the most part, imsuccessful. Some of
the explorers had penetrated a little way into the inte-
rior, and some had planted colonies which had soon been
broken up by hardships and discouragement, but few had
been able to gain much topographical knowledge of the
countries which they claimed to own. The EngUsh had
28 HISTORYOFTHE
succeeded in establishing a small colony at Jamestown,
and the French had founded a colony at Quebec, and
made a settlement at Port Royal, but the rest of the
country remained in the hands of the natives.
In the year 1524, Francis I. had dispatched Jean
Verrazani, a skillful Florentine navigator, with a squad-
ron of four ships, to explore the coast of North America.
Soon after their departure, three of these became dis-
abled in a violent tempest, and Verrazani reached the
island of Madeira with but a single vessel. Stopping
here a few days to refit, he proceeded on his voyage,
and reached the American coast, as it is supposed, in the
vicinity of Wilmington, whence he coasted northward,
and was the first to enter the bay of New York, which
he thus describes :
, ** After proceeding one hundred leagues, we foimd a
" very pleasant situation among some steep hills, through
"which a very large river, deep at its mouth, forced its
" way to the sea. From the sea, to the estuary of the
** river, any ship heavily laden might pass with the help
** of the tide, which rises eight feet. But as we were
"riding at anchor in a good berth, we would not
"venture up in our vessel without a knowledge of
" the mouth ; therefore we took the boat, and entering
"the laver, we found the country on its banks well
"peopled, the inhabitants not difiering much from the
" others, being dressed out with the feathers of birds of
"various colors. They came towards us with evident
" delight, raising loud shouts of admiration, and showing
" us where we could most securely land our boat. We
''passed up this river about half a league, when we
/
CITTOPNEWYORK. 29
" found it formed a most beautiful lake, three leagues in
** circuit, upon which they were rowing thirty or more
*' of their small boats from one shore to the other, filled
** with multitudes who came to see us. All of a sudden,
'• as is wont to happen to navigators, a violent contrary
'* wind blew in from the sea, and forced us to return to
*' our ship, greatly regretting to leave this region, which
" seemed so commodious and delightful, and which we
''supposed must also contain great riches, as the hills
*' showed many indications of minerals."
This graphic description is the more worthy of notice,
inasmuch as it is the earliest now extant of the island
and natives of Manhattan. From here Verrazani pro-
ceeded to the haven of Newport, where he anchored for
fifteen days, after which he coasted northward as far as
the fiftieth degree of north latitude, then returned to,
France, where he pubUshed a brief narrative of his jour-
ney. To the newly discovered country, he gave the
name of New France, a name by which Canada con-
tinued to be known as long as it remained in the
possession of the French. This discovery laid the foun-
dation for a claim by France on all the territory north
of the Carohnas — a claim which she long continued to
maintain. Previously to this, however, Sebastian Cabot,
a Venetian by birth, in the service of Henry VIL, had
explored the country from Labrador to Florida, thus
giving to England a prior claim upon the same territory.
As has before been said, both nations had profited by
these discoveries to make settlements in the country
thus claimed by each, the one in Virginia and the other
in Canada ; but at the period in which our history opens.
30 HISTOBYOPTHE
the whole of the vast territory lying between these
distant points remained in the possession of its first
owners, the natives. It was. not long before a third
nation disputed the rich prize with them by virtue of the
right of actual possession. ^
At this time, the Dutch were the richest commercial
nation on the globe. Having conquered their inde-
pendence from Spain and their country from the sea,
they turned their attention to commerce, and with such
success that it was not long before their saUs whitened
the waters of every clime. A thousand vessels were
built annually in Holland, and an extensive trade was
carried on with all the European nations. But their
richest commerce was with the East Indies ; and the
better to secure themselves in this against aU com-
petition, the merchants engaged in this traffic had, in
1602, obtained a charter of incorporation for twenty-
one years from the States General under the name of
the East India Company, granting them the exclusive
monopoly of the trade in the Eastern Seas beyond the
Cape of Good Hope on one side and the Straits of
Magellan on the other, with other valuable privileges.
This obtained, it next became desirable to shorten the
passage thither, and thus to render the commerce more
lucrative. The voyage to China by the only known
route — ^that by the way of the Cape of Good Hope —
consumed two years, and the time seemed long to the
impatient merchants. It was thought that a more expe-
ditious passage might be discovered by the way of the
Polar Seas, and three expeditions, imder the conmiand
of Barentsen, Cornelissen, and Heemskerck, were dis-
CITY OF NEWYORK. 31
patched, one after the other, in se»ch of it. But they
found nothing but ice and snow where they had hoped
to find a clear sea, and returned after having endured
unheard-of hardships, and earned a lasting fame as the
earliest Polar navigators.
The English, in the meantime, had not been idle.
Jealous of the growing commercial prosperity of their
neighbors, they determined on trying the experiment in
which the Dutch had failed. In 1607, a company of
merchants fitted out a ship, and intrusted it to the com-
mand of Henry Hudson, an Englishman and an experi-
enced and skillful navigator, with instructions to carve a
passage through the Polar Seas to China and Japan for
the benefit of England. But he met with no better
success than his predecessors, and after two voyages, the
merchants became discouraged, and refused to permit
him to make a third trial.
Hudson, however, was more than ever sanguine of
the ultimate success of the enterprise, and as the Eng-
lish refused to help him to try again, he asked the Dutch
to do so. They consented, and in 1609 the Dutch East
India Company fitted out a yacht called the Half Moon,
of eighty tons burden, which they manned with a crew
of twenty sailors, partly Dutch and partly English, and
intrusted it to the command of Hudson.
Hudson sailed from the Texel on his third expedition,
on the 6th of April, 1609, hoping to reach the Indies by
the way of the Polar Seas. After a stormy voyage, he
reached the banks of Newfoundland early in July.
Here he lay becalmed for some time, after which he
steered to Penobscot Bay, where he remained a week to
32 HISTOEYOFTHB
replace his foremastyi which had been lost during the
voyage, and to mend his rigging. Coasting southward
as far as Chesapeake Bay, landing on his way at Cape
Cod, which he mistook for an island and named New
Holland, he retraced his course, and proceeded north-
ward to Delaware Bay, which he attempted to explore ;
but finding the navigation difficult, he again put to sea,
and, on the evening of the 2d of Sept., came in sight of
the Highlands of Navesinck, which he describes ** as a
*' good land to fall in with, and a pleasant land to see."
Here he remained all night, and setting sail the next
morning came to what he describes as ** three great
** rivers," the northernmost of which he attempted to
enter, but was prevented by the shoal bar before it.
This was probably Rockaway Inlet; the others, the
Raritan and the Narrows. Foiled in this attempt, he
rounded Sandy Hook, sending a boat before him to
sound the way, and anchored his vessel in the lower
bay. Seeing that the waters were swarming with fish,
he sent a boat's crew to obtain some. They landed, it is
said, at Coney Island, and were the first white men that
ever set foot on the soil of the Empire State.
We can easily excuse Hudson if he forgot the North-
em Passage and the Polar Seas — ^the prime objects of
his expedition — in the beautiful scene before him, and
determined to explore this strange, new country, which
was worth more than all the wealth of the Indies. The
shores were covered with gigantic oaks from sixty to
seventy feet high, the hills beyond were crowned with
grass and fragrant flowers, strange wild birds were flit-
thig through the air, and fish were darting through the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 33
sparkling waters. Friendly Indians, dressed in mantles
of feathers and fine furs, and decorated with copper or-
naments, flocked on board the vessel, bringing corn, to-
bacco, and vegetables for the mysterious strangers.
Hudson received them kindly, and gave them axes,
knives, shoes, and stockings in return. But these arti-
cles were all new to them, and they put them to a new
use ; they hung the axes anH shoes about their necks for
ornaments, and used the stockings for tobacco pouches.
Hudson remained in the bay for a week, sending a
boat's crew, in the meantime, to sound the river. They
passed through the Narrows, entered the bay, and came
in sight of the grassy hills of Manhattan. Passing
through the Kills, between Staten Island and Bergen
Neck, they proceeded six miles up the river, and disco-
vered Newark Bay. On their return, the boat was
attacked by the natives. An English sailor named John
Colman was struck in the throat by an arrow and killed ;
two others were slightly wounded, and the rest escaped to
the ship with the dead body of their companion, to carry
the tidings of the mournful catastrophe. This was the
first white man's blood ever shed in the territory, and it is
probable, though not certain, that the sailors themselves
were the first aggressors. Colman was an old comrade of
Hudson ; he had been the companion of his earlier voy-
ages, and his death inspired him with distrust and hatred
of the natives, whom before he had regarded with favor.
On the following day — ^the 9th of September — the first
white man's grave in these regions was dug on Sandy
Hook, and the spot was christened Colman's Point in
memory of the departed.
3
34
HISTORY OF THE
On the 11th of September, 1609, the Half Moon passed
through the Narrows, and anchored in New York Bay.
Distrusting the fierce Manhattans, the captain remained
there but a single day. Canoes filled with men, women
and children, flocked aroimd the ship, bringing oysters
and vegetables ; but though these were purchased, not a
native was suffered to come on board.
The Half Moon ascending the river.
The next day Hudson made his way up the river
which now bears his name, and through which he hoped
to find the long-sought passage to the Indies. He called
it the Groot Rivier. It was called by the respective
tribes which inhabited its shores, the Shatemuc, Mohi-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 35
can, and Cahohatatea. The Dutch afterwards gave it
the name of the Mauritius, in honor of Prince Maurice
of Nassau, by which it continued to be known until the
name of its discoverer was properly bestowed on it by
its English owners. SaiUng slowly up the river, and
anchoring at night in the friendly harbors so plentifully
scattered along his way, Hudson pursued his course
towards the head of ship navigation, admiring the ever
changing panorama of the beautiful river with its lofty
palisades, its broad bays, its picturesque bends, its ro-
mantic highlands, and its rocky shores, covered with
luxurious forests. Everywhere he was greeted with a
friendly reception. The river Indians, more gentle than
those of the island of Manhattan, welcomed the strangers
with offerings of the best that their land afforded, and
urged them to remain with them. Fancying that the
white men were afraid of their arrows, they broke them
in pieces and threw them into the fire. Game was
killed for their use, hospitalities were urged upon them,
and every attention which a rude but generous nature
could prompt was offered to the strangers. Indeed, this
seems in the beginning to have been the usual conduct
of the natives, and it is probable that in their future
hostilities, in nearly every instance, the whites were the
aggressors.
On the 19th of September, Hudson reached the site of
the present city of Albany, which, greatly to his disap-
pointment, he found to be the head of ship navigation.
To be sure of the fact, he dispatched the mate with a
boat's crew to sound the river higher up, but, after pro-
ceeding eight or nine leagues, finding but seven feet
36 HISTORY OFTHE
water, they were forced to return with the unwelcome
intelligence. After remaining at anchor for several
days, during which time he still continued to hold friendly
intercourse with the natives, Hudson prepared to descend
the river. His stay here was marked by a revel, the
tradition of which is still preserved among the Indian
legends, and the scene of which is laid by some historians
upon the island of Manhattan. Various legends of a
similar import concerning the introduction of the fatal
** fire-water" are in existence among the different tribes
of Indians ; everywhere the same causes produced the
same results, and the multiplicity of these traditions may
easily be accounted for.
On the 23d of September, Hudson commenced to
descend the river. He had ascended it in eleven days ;
he descended it in the same time, constantly receiving
demonstrations of friendship from the natives of the
neighboring shores. But unfortunately this harmony
was soon destined to be broken. While anchored at *
Stony Point, an Indian was detected pilfering some goods
through the cabin windows. The offender was instantly
shot by the mate, and the frightened natives fled in con-
sternation.
Nor was this the only rupture of peaceful relations
with the hitherto friendly natives. Following the exam-
ple of other discoverers, who were accustomed to carry
to their own homes specimens of the natives of the new
countries which they had visited, Hudson had seized and
detained two Indians on board his ship at Sandy Hook;
both of whom had escaped during his passage up the
river, and were lying in wait for his return, to avenge
CITY OF NEWYORK. 37
their captivity. Their narrative liad enlisted the sympa-
thies of their countrymen, and a large body gathered in
their canoes at the head of Manhattan Island, and
attempted to board the vessel. Repulsed in the attempt,
they discharged a harmless iflight of arrrows at the yacht,
which was returned by a musket shot, which killed two
of their number. They scattered in dismay, only to
gather again, reinforced by several hundreds, at Fort
Washington ; where they again attacked the vessel as she
was jfloating dovm the stream. A few musket-shots soon
put them again to flight, with the loss of nine of their
warriors. This strange new weapon of the white men,
speaking in tones of thunder, and belching forth fire
and smoke, was more terrible to them than an army of
invaders. They did not return to the attack, and Hud-
son pursued his way unmolested to the bay near Hobo-
ken, where he anchored for the last time, and, lying
windbound there for one day, set sail for Europe on
the 4th of October, just one month after his arrival, to
carry to his patrons the news of the discovery of a new
country, and the opening of a new commerce. Though
Verrazani was the first to behold the island of destiny,
to Hudson belongs the credit of being its practical dis-
coverer, and of opening the way to its future settlers.
The directors of the East India Company were dis-
satisfied with the success of the enterprise. They had
expected to find a short road to the land of silks and
spices, and cared little for the rich lands and broad
forests described by Hudson in the account of his voyage,
which he published on his arrival. Hudson proposed
again to undertake the enterprise, and would probably
88 HISTORY OFTHE
have done so, but, having landed at Dartmouth on his re-
turn homeward, he was forbidden to leave the country by
the English authorities, who were jealous of the advan-
tages which the Dutch had gained by his means. Untir-
ing in his eflforts to find the northwest passage, that ignis
fatuus which has lured on so many intrepid navigators
to their destruction, he sailed on another voyage of dis-
covery in the service of his early English patrons in the
spring of 1610, and, after passing a winter of suflfering
among the Arctic regions, perished, abandoned by his
mutinous crew, amid the ice and snows of the bay which
bears his name. The Half Moon, on her return to Hol-
land, was dispatched on a trading voyage to the East
Indies, during which she was wrecked and lost on the
island of Mauritius.
The voyage of the Half Moon to America, if it did not
gain the exact thing desired, was at least suggestive of
a new idea to the busy Dutch speculators. Though
their most lucrative traffic was with the East Indies,
they did not neglect the smaller mines from which
money might be extracted, but maintained a flourish-
ing commerce with the other European nations, espe-
cially with Russia. They dispatched nearly a hundred
ships to Archangel every year, whence they carried on a
lucrative traffic in furs with the interior of the country,
subject to a duty of five per cent, on all goods exceeding
an equal amount of importations. But Hudson's
glowing accounts of the rich peltries which he had seen
among the natives of the newly-discovered territory,
suggested to the traders that it would be much cheaper to
purchase them with knives and trinkets in a country where
CITY OF NEW YORK. 39
custom-houses and duties were unknown, than to buy them,
as hitherto, at a high rate in Russia. Acting under the
impulse of this idea, in 1610, a few merchants fitted out
another vessel, and dispatched her under the command
of the former mate of the Half Moon, to trade in furs
with the Indians. The speculation proved eminently
successful. Stimulated by their example, other mer-
chants joined in the enterprise, and in 1612 dis-
patched the Fortune and the Tiger, under the command
of Hendrick Christiaensen and Adriaen Block, on a trad-
^S ^ojB^ge to the Mauritius River, as it was now called.
The following year, three more vessels, under the com-
mand of Captains De Witt, Volckertsen, and Mey, were
sent from Amsterdam and Hoorn to the same coast on
the same errand.
The fur traffic might now be considered to have fairly
commenced, and a new mine of wealth to be opened to
Holland. It was determined to open a regular com-
merce with the new province, to make the islancj of
Manhattan the chief depot of the fur trade in America,
and to establish agents there to collect furs while the
ships were going to and returning from Holland. Hend-
rick Christiaensen was appointed the first agent. He
built a redoubt with four small houses on the site of the
present 39 Broadway, and thus laid the foundation of
the future city.
The navy was commenced about the same time. One
of the vessels, the Tiger, commanded by Adriaen Block,
was accidentally burned just as he was preparing to return
to Holland. He immediately set about building another,
the fine timber of the island furnishing him with ample
materials, and in the spring of 1614, finished the first
40 HISTORYOFTHE
vessel ever launched on the waters of Manhattan. This
was a yacht of sixteen tons burden, and was called the
Restless — a name truly prophetic of the future city.
The building of the vessel occupied the whole winter,
the friendly natives meanwhile supplying the strangers
with food.
The little yacht completed, Block set about explor-
ing the neighboring country. Passing through the
Hellegat into the Long Island Sound, he discovered the
Housatonic, and Connecticut, or Fresh River, as he named
it, in contradistinction to the Hudson, the waters of
which were salt, and ascended the latter to the head of
navigation. Returning to the Sound, he again proceeded
eastward to Montauk Point, which he christened ** Vis-
schel's Hoeck," and discovered Block Island, which still
bears his name. Continuing his course to Narragansett,
or Nassau Bay, he thoroughly explored its waters,
discovered Roode or Red, since corrupted into Rhode
Island, and coasted northward as far as Nahant Bay,
exploring and naming the intervening bays and islands,
which, however, had before been discovered and named by
earUer English adventurers. On his return to Cape Cod,
he encountered the Fortune, which had quitted Manhat-
tan to return to Europe. The temptation was too strong
to be resisted, the picture of home rose before his eyes,
and leaving his little yacht, too frail to encounter the
perils of the ocean voyage, in the charge of Cornelis
Hendricksen, he embarked in the returning vessel to
bear the news of his discoveries to Holland. He n^ver
returned to the scene of his early discoveries, but his
name is one of the few relics of the early pioneers tha^
1
OITT OP NEW YORK. 41
still remain to us. His comrades had not been idle in the
meantime. Cornelissen Mey had explored the southern
coast of Long Island, thus proving for the first time that it
was an island, and had visited Delaware Bay and bestowed
his name on ite northern cape, while Hendrick Christiaen-
sen had ascended the Mauritius, and built a little struc-
ture, half fort, half warehouse, armed with tjvo large
gims and a few swivels, and garrisoned by eleven men,
on Castle Island, a little below Albany. This post he
christened Fort Nassau in honor of the stadtholder.
It is afifirmed by several historians that, soon after its
foundation, the little settlement was visited by Captain
ArgaU of Virginia on his return from his Acadian expe-
dition, and that the Dutch traders were compelled by him
to strike their flag and to acknowledge the supremacy of
England. But this assertion seems unsupported by sufl&-
cient evidence. The earlier historians are silent in re-
spect to it, nor do the state papers of either nation make
mention of the fact. The story rests upon the authority
of one or two printed English works, unsupported by
documentary evidence, and cannot at least be affirmed
with certainty ; the probability is that it is fictitious.
A few months previous to Block's retunji to Holland,
the States General of the Netherlands, to encourage
emigration, had passed an ordinance, granting to all dis-
coverers of new countries the exclusive right of trading
thither for four voyages. Unwilling to lose any part
of the profitable conmierce thus opened by their enter-
prise, the merchants who had fitted out the first expedi-
tion made a map of all the country between the Cana-
das and Virginia, and, claiming to be the original dis-
42 HISTORTOFTHE
coverers thereof, petitioned the government for the
promised monoply. This was granted, and on the 11th
of October, 1614, they received a charter, granting them
the exclusive right of trade, to the territory lying be-
tween the fortieth and forty-fifth degrees of north lati-
tude, for four voyages within the period of three years ;
and forbidding all other persons to interfere with this
monopoly, under penalty of confiscation of both vessels
and cargoes, with a fine of fifty thousand Netherland
ducats for the benefit of the grantees of the charter. In
this instrionent, the province first formally received the
name of New Netherland.
The merchants now formed themselves into an asso-
ciation under the name of the ** United New Nether-
land Company," and prepared to carry on their opera-
tions on a. more extensive scale. Parties were sent to
explore the interior, and to collect furs from the natives
which were stored at the depots of Port Nassau and
Manhattan ; and Jacob Belkins, a shrewd and active
trader, was appointed agent at the former, in the place
of Hendrick Christiaensen, who had been murdered by
one of the natives. This is the first murder on record
in the province. The murderer, a young Indian, whom
Christiaensen had carried to Holland on his first voyage,
and who had ever since remained with him, met a
speedy death from the hands of the settlers.
Yet the Dutch did not neglect to cultivate the friend-
ship of the natives. The several tribes within the pro-
vince of the New Netherland differed widely in char-
acter. The whole, indeed, claimed originally to have
been one people, the Lenni Lenape, or "unbroken
CITY OP NEW YORK. 43
nation ;" but few vestiges remained of the original
brotherhood. The generic name of this people was
Wapanachki; the name '* Indian" was an anomalous one,
derived from the idea that North America formed part of
the Indies. The Manhattan Indians were fierce and war-
like, though they treated the traders kindly, and supplied
them with food during the long, cold winters. The Mo-
hicans on the east side of the river were peaceful and
friendly, yet they were the deadly enemies of the Min-
cees, who dwelt on the other side ; and their war parties
often crossed and recrossed the river on hostile expedi-
tions. On the southern border of the province, along
the Delaware River, were the Lenape or Delawares. To
the north of these, were the Mengwes or Iroquois, the
most dreaded and powerful of all the Indian tribes.
These held acknowledged supremacy over all the other
tribes. Their hunting-grounds stretched across the
entire province, and their wigwams opened at the east
on the Hudson River, and at the west on Lake Erie.
But they had not gained this ascendency without a
struggle. Weak in the beginning, they had learned to
comprehend that union is strength ; and the five tribes
which originally occupied this vast extent of territory —
the Mohawks, Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, and Ononda-
gas, had leagued themselves together in a firm union
under the name of Iroquois, or the Five Nations.
Later, the Tuscaroras were admitted into the confeder-
acy, and the Five Nations were thus increased to six.
Strengthened by this aUiance, and fierce and despotic by
nature, they soon subjugated their gentler brethren, and
forced them to lay aside their weapons and to assume
44 HISTORY OFTHB
the name of *' women," trusting their defence entirely
to them. They sent their old men into the villages to
collect tribute from the river Indians, and there was not
one among them who dared refuse it. A single Iroquois
would put a hundred Mohicans or Mincees to flight, so
great was the terror inspired by them. But this sove-
reignty did not extend to the Hurons or Canada Indians,
who were as formidable as they, and their constant and
deadly foes. The French in the Canadas leagued with
the latter, and taught them the use of firearms ; and see-
ing themselves threatened with extermination by this
new and wonderful weapon, the Iroquois hailed the
arrival of white men in their own country with delight,
as the only means which could save them from being
subjugated in turn, and forced to take their place with
the Mohicans and Mincees. The Dutch, on their side,
were quite as ready for the alUance. The country of
the Iroquois abounded in rich furs which could only be
obtained through the friendship of the natives. Their
fort at the head of the river was on the land of the Iro-
quois, and, without their alliance, they could not secure
its safety. In the spring of 1617, a solemn council of
both nations was held in a place called Tawasentha, near
the site of the present city of Albany. Each tribe of
the Iroquois sent a chief to the meeting, and a delega-
tion was also present from the river tribes. A formal
treaty of peace and alliance between the Dutch and the
Iroquois was concluded, and the other tribes renewed
their acknowledgment of the supremacy of the Five
Nations. The pipe of peace was smoked, and the
hatchet buried in the earth ; and the Dutch declared
CITY OF NEW YORK.
45
that they would build a church over the spot, so that none
could dig it up without overthrowing the sacred struc-
ture, and thus incurring the wrath of the Great Spirit
and the vengeance of the white men. WeU indeed
would it have been for them, could it always have thus
remained buried.
The Council at Tawasentha, in 1617.
r
46 HISTORYOFTHE
This treaty insured the prosperity of the traders.
Sure of the friendship of the natives, they fearlessly
sent their agents among them to obtain their costly furs
in exchange for the muskets and ammunition they so
much coveted. It was not long before the Indian be-
came more skillful than his master in the use of the
deadly weapon, and grew in turn to be the terror of the
white man. The agents explored the interior, bringing
back stores of valuable furs, and the trade became so
profitable that when, in 1618, the charter of the United
New Netherland Company expired by its own limitation,
they petitioned the government to grant them a renewal.
This they failed to obtain, though they were permitted to
continue their trade under a special Ucense two or three
years longer.
Hitherto the Dutch had looked on Manhattan only as
a trading-post. They did not think of making them-
selves homes in this new, wild country, but dwelt in
temporary huts of the rudest construction, which
scarcely protected them from the cold. But the English
were exploring the coast, and laying claim to allthe coun-
try between Canada and Virginia, and the Dutch began
to realize the importance of planting colonies in the
new province, and thus securing their American posses-
sions.
About this time, too, the little settlement received a
visit of threatening import. In 1620, Captain Thomas
Dermer, an Englishman in the service of Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, touched at Manhattan on his way to New Eng-
land, and warned the traders not to continue on Enghsh
territory ; to which they replied that it belonged to them
CITY OF NEW YORK. 47
of right, as the first discoverers and occupiers. Upon
this, Dermer, Gorges, Argall and others, petitioned
James I. for a grant of the province of New Netherland,
protesting that it was wrongfully occupied by the Dutch,
and claiming for Dermer the discovery of Long Island
Sound and the adjacent country. That he was the first
Englishman who had ever sailed through the Sound
is probable : yet Block, Christiaensen and others had
preceded him. He is one of the few who makes men-
tion of the prior visit of* Argall to Manhattan — an inter-
ested witness, since this pretext served to strengthen his
claim to the possession of the territory. The king, how-
ever, listened to their prayer ; a royal charter conferring
the exclusive jurisdiction of all territories in America
between the parallels of forty and forty-eight degrees
was granted to Gorges and his associates, and the English
ambassador at the Hague was directed to remonstrate
with the States General against the occupation by the
Dutch of English territory. But Uttle attention was paid
to this remonstrance, and the Dutch went on in their
work of colonizing New Netherland.
There was little freedom of thought at this time in
England. The people were divided into two great re-
ligious sects, the EpiscopaUans, and the Puritans. The
latter, by their stern denimciation of the rites and cere-
monies of the Episcopalian Church, the established
Church of England, their refusal to conform to the
statutes of the realm, and their almost fanatical opposi-
tion to everything that savored of prayer-book or
ritual, had drawn upon themselves the displeasure of the
government. Disapprobation soon grew into persecu-
48 HISTOBTOFTHE
tion. The Puritans sternly refused to yield a single
point of their obnoxious doctrines, while the government
daily increased in rigor. Weary of the contest, a nunv-
ber of the persecuted nonconformists fled, with their min-
-ister, John Robinson, to Holland, where they found the
fullest toleration. Settling at Leyden, they organized
a congregation, and enjoyed the religious freedom which
they had failed to obtain in their native land. Yet here
they felt like strangers. The manners and customs were
foreign to them ; the language was strange and the gov-
ernment unlike their own, and their children were grow-
ing up in the speech and habits of the new country and
forgetting their mother-tongue. They were English and
they feared to become Dutch. The New World offered
a tempting home to them in which they could enjoy both
civil and religious liberty, and train up their offspring in
their own faith and language. It was at first proposed
to settle at Guiana, but this scheme was finally aban-
doned. Hearing of the glowing accoimts of the pro-
vince of New Netherland, Robinson entreated permis-
sion of the Dutch to settle there, promising to take with
him four hundred families if the government would
pledge itself to protect him against all other powers.
The offer pleased the merchants, who would gladly have
transported them thither free of cost, and have fur-
nished them with cattle and agricultural implements to
aid them in establishing the much-needed colony. But
the States General had other plans in view. They wished
to organize an armed miUtary force that could assist
them in the war which they were then carrying on with
Spain ; and besides, they thought it better policy to peo-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 49
Die the province with their own countrymen. They,
therefore, refused the prayer of the Puritans ; and on
the 3d of June, 1621, granted a charter to the ** West
India Company," conferring on them for a period of
twenty-one years, the exclusive jurisdiction over the pro-
vince of New Netherlands The powers thus conferred
upon this new association were as extensive as those en-
joyed by the East India Company. The exclusive right
of trade in the Atlantic, from the Tropic of Cancer to
the Cape of Good Hope on the eastern, and from New-
foimdland to the Straits of Magellan on the western
continent was granted them. Their power over this
immense territory was almost unlimited. They could
make contracts with the native princes, build forts,
administer justice, and appoint governors and public
oflBcers, the appointment of the former to be subject to
the approval of the States General, to whom they were
required to take oaths of allegiance. In return, the Com-
pany pledged themselves to colonize the new territories,
and to keep the States General - informed from time to
time of their plan of operations. The government of
the association was vested in five separate chambers of
managers, established in five principal Dutch cities : one
at Amsterdam, one at Middleburg, one at Dordrecht,
one in North Holland, and one in Friesland and Gron-
inger. The details of its management were intrusted to
a board of directors, nineteen in number, one of whom
was appointed by the States General, the others by the
respective chambers, in proportion to their relative im-
portance. Full executive powers, with the exception of
a declaration of war, for which the consent of the States
4
50 HISTORTOP THE
General was necessary, was conferred on this board of
directors, commonly called the Assembly of Nineteen.
The States General, on their part, promised to protect
the Company from all interference, to give them a miL
lion of guilders, and to supply them with ships and men
in case of war. The Puritans, meanwhile, repulsed
on this side, had made their way to Plymouth Rock,
and planted their faith on the shores of New England.
The West India Company set about the work of co-
lonizing the new province with vigor. In 1623, the
Amsterdam Chamber, to whose especial care the province
had been intrusted, fitted out the New Netherland, h
ship of two hundred and sixty tons burden, and dis-
patched it, with thirty families, to the territory whose
name it bore, for the purpose of founding a colony. The
expedition was placed under the command of Cornelissen
Jacobsen Mey, who was also appointed First Director of
the province. Most of these new colonists were Wal-
loons, or French Protestants, from the confines of France
and Belgium, who had obtained from the Dutch what
they had vamly sought from the English, permission to
make themselves homes in the New World. These were,
properly speaking, the earliest colonists of the province,
the Dutch, who had previously emigrated hither, having
been mere traders and temporary sojourners. The new
comers scattered themselves over the country. Eight re-
mained at Manhattan. Four couples, who had been mar-
ried during the ^ oyage, together with eight seamen, were
sent to South River, where they founded a settlement on
the Jersey shore, near Gloucester. The Walloons, headed
by George Jansen de Rapelje, settled on Long Island,-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 51
at the Waal-bogt, or Walloon's Bay, where Sarah de
Rapelje, the first child of European parentage in the pro-
vince, was born, in 1625.* A few of the colonists were
dispatched by the governor to the Fresh, or Connecticut
River, and the rest proceeded with him up the Mauritius
River, where they build Fort Orange, on the west shore,
about four miles ^above Fort Nassau, and vigorously com-
menced the work of clearing the wilderness. The New
Netherland returned to Holland under the command of
Adriaen Jovis, the second in command of the expedition,
with a cargo of furs, valued at twelve thousand dollars.
In 1625, three ships and a yacht, bringing a number
of families, with their furniture, farming implements, and
a hundred and three head of cattle, arrived at Manhattan.
Fearing lest the cattle might stray away into the forests,
the settlers landed them on Nutten's, now Governor's
Island, until further provision could be made for them ;
but finding the island destitute of water, they were com-
pelled at once to carry them in boats to Manhattan.
Two more vessels soon arrived, and the colony now num-
bered some two hundred persons.
A nucleus was now formed from which to form a per-
manent settlement. Hitherto the form of government
had been simple and the settlers transient, but affairs
were now assuming a more settled aspect. In 1624, Mey
returned to Holland, and was succeeded in the director-
ship by WilUam Verhulst. At the end of a year, he, too,
was recalled, and Peter Minuit was appointed Director-
* Recent investigatioiifl tend to confinn the theory that Sarah de Rapelje was
bom at Albany, where her parents appear to have resided about the period of her
birth, instead of at the Waal-bogt, as has been supposed.
52 HISTORY OP THE
General of New Netherland ; with instructions from the
Company to organize a provincial government. In this
government, the supreme authority, executive, legisla-
tive, and judicial, was vested in the Director and Council,
with full power to administer justice, except in capital
cases ; in which, the oflfender, on being convicted, must
be sent with his sentence to Holland.. Next to these
came the Koopman, who performed the double duty of
Secretary of the province, and book-keeper of the Com-
pany's warehouse. Subordinate to this functionary, was
the Schout Fiscal, a sort of civil factotum, half sheriff and
half attorney-general, the executive officer of the Director
and Council, and general custom-house officer. At the
same time, the first seal was granted
to the province of New Nether-
land.* Minuit's council consisted of
Peter Bj^velt, Jacob Elbertsen Wis-
sinck, Jan Janssen Brouwer, Simon
Dircksen Pos, and Reynert Har-
menssen. Isaac de Rasiferes, the
first Koopman, was succeeded two Seal of New Amsterdam. 1654.
years afterwards by Jan Yan Re- iDe.eribedanp,m,)
mund ; Jan Lampo acted as Schout Fiscal.
On the 4th of May, 1626, Peter Minuit, the new
Director, arrived at Manhattan in the ship Sea Mew, com-
manded by Adriaen Jovis. To his credit be it said, the
first act of his administration was to secure possession
of Manhattan by lawful purchase. Soon after his arrival
he bought the whole island of the Indians for the Dutch
West India Company for the sum of sixty guilders, or
twenty-four dollars. The island was fifteen miles m
• For engraving of the seal, see p. 140.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 63
length, and from about a quarter of a mile to two miles
in breadth, and was estimated to contain twenty-two
thousand acres.
Having thus become the lawful owners of the terri-
tory, the first care of the colonists was to provide for
their personal safety. The English were constantly
prowUng about their coasts and threatening their
destruction, and they knew that they were not secure in
the neighborhood of the fierce Manhattans. A fort was
at once staked out by their engineer, Kryn Frederycke,
on the triangle which formed the southern part of the
island, and which seemed chosen by nature herself* for
the purpose. This fort, which was a mere block-house,
surrounded by cedar palisades, received the imposing
name of Fort Amsterdam, and was completed in the
course of the following year. A horse mill was also
erected, with a large room on the second floor for religious
services, and a stone building, thatched with re^ds, was
built for the Company's warehouse. Some thirty rude
huts along the shores of the East River made up the
balance of the settlement. Neither clergyman nor school-
master was as yet known in the colony, but two visitors
of the sick, Sebastian Jansen Krol and Jan Huyck by
name, were appointed, whose duty it was to read the Scrip-
tm-es and the creeds to the people on Sundays. Every
settler had his own house, kept his cows, tilled his land, or
traded with the natives — ^no one was idle. The settle-
ment throve, and the exports of furs during this year
amounted to nineteen thousand dollars.
Minuit now determined to open a friendly correspon-
dence with his eastern neighbors, and on the 9 th of
54 HISTORY OFTHE
March, 1727, Isaac de Rasiferes, the secretary of the pro-
vince, addressed an amicable letter by his order to Gov-
ernor Bradford at Plymouth, congratulating him on the
prosperity of his colony, and expressing a hope that
pleasant relations might continue to exist between them.
This letter was the first communication between the
Dutch and the Yankees. Bradford repUed in the same
friendly tone, though he took care to throw out a few
hints on the questionable propriety of Dutch trade
within the limits of ^ew England. Alarmed by this
claim, Minuit answered a few weeks after, vindicating
the' right of the States General to the territory of New
Netherland. The matter rested thus until three months
after, when another letter was received from Bradford,
apologizing fbr the long delay, and requesting th^it the
Dutch would send a commissioner to discuss the
boundary question in an amicable manner. The sugges-
tion was comphed with, and Isaac de Rasi^res dispatched
on the errand, which amounted to little more than an
interchange of civihties between the two powers.
Ere long, seeds of trouble were sown, which ripened
into a harvest of horror and misery.
A Weckquaesgeek Indian, who had come down with
his nephew from West Chester to sell furs to the settlers,
was attacked near the Fresh Water Pond by three of
Minuit's farm servants, who robbed and murdered him.
His nephew, a mere boy, escaped, vowing vengeance on
his uncle's murderers. It is but justice to the authori-
ties to say that they were ignorant of this deed of horror,
which in after years was visited so terribly upon the
whole colony. Revenge is an Indian's virtue, and the
CITY OF NEW YOKK. 56
young savage grew up to manhood, cherishing his
terrible oath, and swearing to wash out his uncle's mur-
der in the blood of the white men.
In the meantime, the colony was increasing slowly,
not so much by new arrivals as by the accession of the
settlers from Forts Nassau and Orange, and the settle-
ments at the South River, who, attacked by the Indians
and tiring of their lonely position, had deemed it
advisable to remove to Manhattan. Six farms, called
'* Bouwerys," were reserved as the private property of
the Company, four of which stretched along the east
shore, the other two lying on the western side of the
island, and extending to Greenwich. The inhabitants now
numbered two hundred and seventy. But the settlement
was expensive, and the Company, who were anxious to
settle the country, determined to induce individual mem-
bers of their body to establish settlements at their own
risk. -To effect this, in 1629, an act was proposed by
the Assembly of Nineteen and ratified by the States
General, granting to any member of the West India
Company who should found a colony of fifty persons,
upward of fifteen years of age, within four years after
notice of his intention, the title of Patroon, with the
privilege of selecting a tract of land sixteen miles on
one side or eight miles on both sides of a navigable
river, and extending as far inland as they chose, any-
where within the limits of the province except on the
island of Manhattan. This, the Company reserved to
themselves, together with the exclusive right to the fur-
trade, and a duty of five per cent on all trade carried on
by the patroons. The patroons were required to satisfy
56 HISTOETOFTHE
the Indians for the land, and to maintain a minister and
schoohnaster ; and the Company promised to strengthen
the fort at Manhattan, to protect the colonists against all
attacks both from the English and the natives, and to
supply them with a sufficient number of negro-servants
for an indefinite length of time. This was the first
introduction of slavery into the province of New Xether-
land. Those settlers who emigrated at their own
expense were to have as much ground as they could
cultivate, and to be exempt from taxes for ten years ; in
no case, however, either on the territory of the patroons
or the Company, were they permitted a voice in the
government. They were also forbidden to make any
woollen, linen, or cotton cloth, or to weave any other
stufis, under penalty of punishment and exile. These
and similar arbitrary restrictions sowed the seed of that
discontent which agitated the people for so many years,
and finally culminated in open rebellion.
These patroons were petty sovereigns in their own
right — feudal lords of the soil — possessing complete juris-
diction over their tenants, who were forbidden to leave
their service for a stipulated time. They also had
authority to appoint local officers in all cities which they
might establish, and were endowed with manorial privi-
leges of hunting, fishing and fowhng on all lands within
their domain. This tempting offer at once excited the
cupidity and love of power of the merchants of the
West India Company, and no sooner was the act passed
than a number hastened to comply with its requirements.
Samuel Godyn and Samuel Blommaert, both of whom
were directors of the West India Company, dispatched
CITY OF NBW YORK. 57
agents to New Netherland, who purchased of the Indians
two tracts of land ; the one extending from Cape Henlo-
pen thirty-two miles up the west shore of Delaware Bay ;
and the other, a piece of land sixteen miles square on the
opposite shore, including Cape May, to which they gave
the name of Swaanendael. Soon after, the agents of
Killian Van Rensselaer, another director of the Company,
purchased in his name the lands above and below Fort
Orange, including the present counties of Albany and
Rensselaer, to which they gave the name of Rensselaers-
wyck. Another director, Michael Pauw, appropriated a
tract of land on the Jersey shore opposite to Manhattan,
including Paulus Hook, Hoboken, and the adjacent
country, to which he gave the name of Pavonia. To
this purchase he soon after added that of Staten Island.
This wholesale appropriation of the province excited
the jealousy of the other directors. Loud murmurs of
discontent arose among the Company, and the grasping
patroons were forced to admit their colleagues to share in
their domains. Companies were formed for the proposed
scheme of colonization, and David Pietersen de Vries,
who had become one of the patroons of Swaanendael in
the new arrangement, proceeded thither with a colony of
thirty persons, which he established at Hoarkill near the
present site of Lewiston. Colonies were also established
about the same time at Rensselaerswyck and Pavonia.
The settlement at Fort Amsterdam, meanwhile, con-
tinued to flourish. Not only was it the chief depot of
the fur trade, but also of the coast trade of the patroons,
who were obliged to bring thither all their cargoes. In
1629 and 1630, the imports from Amsterdam amounted
58 HISTOEYOFTHE
to one hundred and thirteen thousand guilders, while the
exports from Manhattan exceeded one hundred and
thirty thousand. The people were turning their atten-
tion to ship-building, in humble imitation of the Father-
land, and at this early date, New Amsterdam was the
commercial metropolis of America. It fairly won the
title in 1631 by the construction of the New Netherland,
a ship of eight hundred tons, which was built at Man-
hattan and dispatched to Holland. This was an impor-
tant event in the ship-building annals of the times, for
the New Netherland was one of the largest merchant
vessels in the world. But the experiment was a costly
one, and was not soon repeated. The land about the
fort was fiist being brought under cultivation, and, under
the management of the industrious Walloons, a thriving
settlement was springing up on the Brooklyn shore, and
gradually extending back upon Long Island. Emigrants
of all nations were beginning to flock into the province,
allured by the liberal oflFers of the Company, who trans-
ported them thither in their own ships at the cheap rate
of twelve and a half cents a day for provisions and pas-
sage, and gave them as much land as they could cultivate
on their arrival. Unlike the poUcy of the Colony of
Massachusetts, the fuUest reUgious toleration was granted
in the province, and this attracted many victims of the
persecution which was raging so fiercely in Europe, ^^al-
loons, Huguenots, Calvinists, Friends and Cg,tholics>. all
found a home "here, and laid the foundation of t'fcat
cosmopolitan character which the city has since so weJJ/
sustained. \
Yet the colony was chiefly of the Dutch type. The •
\
CITTOF NEW YORK, 59
simple and frugal settlers had imported the mamiers and
customs of Holland along with its houses and furniture,
and these for many years imparted a marked individual-
ity to the growing city. To the north and south, the
settlements were essentially English ; for a long time,
New Amsterdam and its successor, New York, remained
essentially Dutch. Yet these Holland manners and cus-
toms were becoming greatly modified by the exigencies
of the new country. The settlers were gradually adopt-
ing something of the mode of life of their savage allies ;
already had they learned to relish the Indian luxuries of
succotash and hominy, and to welcome to their tables
the game, shell-fish, fruits and berries which the island
afforded in such profusion ; nor did the tobacco find less
favor among them.. The wampum had come to be a com-
mon currency in the settlement. Much of the Indian
life was already clinging to them ; though in thought and
feeling they still belonged to the Old World, and looked
fondly back to Holland as their true fatherland.
At this juncture, a heavy calamity fell upon the infant
colony which had been planted by De Vries at Swaanen-
dael. According to custom, a tin plate, bearing the
arms of Holland, had been aflSxed to a tree, in token of
the sovereignty of the nation. Attracted by the glitter
of the metal, and thinking no harm, a chief took it down
to make it into tobacco pipes. This proceeding, Hossett,
who had charge of the place, imprudently resented as an
insult, and the natives, to appease him, slew the offender
and brought him his right hand as a token of a ven-
geance of which the Dutch commander had never
dreamed. But it was now too late. A few days after,
60 HISTORYOPTHE
the friends of the murdered chieftain fell upon the
settlers as they were at work in the fields, slew them
without mercy, burned the fort and laid waste the whole
settlement. Thirty-two colonists were massacred in cold
blood — not one escaped to tell the tale. It was from the
Indian chiefs themselves that De Vries heard the details
of the horrible catastrophe on his arrival. The colony
at Rensselp^rswyck meanwhile continued to prosper.
The directors of the West India Company had hoped,
by the aid of the patroons, to succeed in colonizing the
country, and, at the same time, to retain the rich mono-
poly of the fur trade in their own hands. In this they met
with serious opposition. The patroons, who had grown
powerful through their extensive privileges, interfered
with the traffic to such an extent that the directors
resolved to limit their authority and to break their
power. This procedure excited almost a civil war in
the Company. By the provisions of the charter, the
patroons were obliged also to be members of the associa-
tion, and the Company was thus divided against itself.
A warm dispute arose, and in 1632, Peter Minuit, who
was suspected of favoring the pretensions of the patroons,
was recalled from the directorship, although no suc-
cessor was appointed for more than a year. At the
same time, Jan Lampo, the schout fiscal, was super-
seded by Conrad Notelraan, who had brought the letters
of recall. Minuit at once resigned the government into
the hands of the council, and embarked for Holland in
the ship Eendragt, which had brought the news of
his dismissal, accompanied by the ex-schout and several
families of returning colonists. The Eendragt also car-
CITTOFNEWTORK. 61
ried with her a cargo of five thousand beaver skins — a
token of the growing prosperity of the colony.
On her return, the ship was forced by stress of
weather into the harbor of Plymouth, where she was
detained by the authorities as an illegal trafficker in
English monopolies. Minuit instantly dispatched news
of this proceeding to the Company, and also to the Dutch
ambassadors at London, who remonstrated with the
English government. The arrest of the Dutch trader
led to a correspondence between the two countries, in
which the claims of the rival powers were distinctly set
forth. These claims, which formed the basis of contin-
ual agitations as long as the province remained in the
hands of its Dutch proprietors, are too important in their
connection with the history as well of the city as of the
whole country, not to find a place here.
The Dutch claimed the proprietorship of the province
on the grounds of its discovery by their nation in 1609 ;
of the return of their people in 1610 ; of the grant of a
trading charter in 1614 ; of the maintenance of a fort
and garrison until the organization of the West India
Company in 1621 ; of the failure of the English to
occupy the territory ; and of the purchase of the land
from its original owners, the natives. The Enghsh, on the
other hand, laid claim to it on the ground of the prior
discovery of Cabot, and declared it to be the property of
the Plymouth Company, by virtue of a patent granted
by James I., its lawful sovereign. As to the purchase of
the land from the natives, they alleged that the wan-
dering and communistic Indians, not being the bond fide
possessors of the land, had no right to dispose of it, and
62 CITY OF NEW YORK.
therefore, that all Indian titles must be invalid — a theory
which they had certainly done their best to reduce to
practice. They offered to permit the Dutch to remain
in New l^etherland, provided they would swear alle-
giance to the English government ; otherwise they were
threatened with instant extirpation. Bilt civil war was
now on the eve of breaking out in England, and the
authorities were ill prepared to put their threat into exe-
cution. Contenting themselves with this assumption of
sovereignty, they released the Eendragt, and reserved
the accomplishment of their designs for a more con-
venient season.
CHAPTER II.
1633-1642.
New Amsterdam in the Days of Wouter Van TiriIler->EDgliflh Difficnltiea— Wnhelre
Kieft.
During the interregnum which succeeded the departure
of Minuit, the government was administered by the
council, headed by Koopman Van Remund, the succes-
sor of Isaac de Rasi^res. In April, 1633, the ship Sout-
berg arrived at Manhattan, bringing Wouter Van
Twiller, the new director-general, with a military force
of a hundred and four soldiers, and a Spanish caraval
which she had captured on the way. Among the pas-
sengers came also Everardus Bogardus and Adam
Roelandsen, the first clergyman * and schoolmaster of
New Amsterdam.
• The reader is referred to Appendix, Note C, for a curious letter, recently trans-
mitted to the Historical Society by the Hon. Henry C. Murphy, XT. S. Minister at the
Hague, bearing date the 11th of August, 1628, and purporting to hare been
addressed by Jonas Michaellus, first Minister of the Church of New Amsterdam,
U> Dominc Adrianus Smoutius, Minister of the Dutch Reformed Church at Amster-
dam. This letter, of the authenticity of which Mr. Murphy expresses himself
9trong1y persuaded, was found among the papers of Jacobus Eoning, clerk of the
fourth judicial district of Amsterdam, and communicated to the Eerk-historisch
Archief by J. J. Bodel Nijenhaus, Esq. Of its previous history, nothing whaterer
b known. In the records of the Classis of Amsterdam of a later date, Domine
Michaelius is mentioned as the late minister of Virginia ; and the fact that the Dutch
64 HISTORTOFTHB
A weaker, more vacillating or thoroughly incompe-
tent governor could hardly have been selected than
Wouter Van Twiller. He had married the niece of the
wealthy patroon, KiUian Van Rensselaer, and it was
probably in consequence of this connection that he had
succeeded in obtaining this important post. He had
been employed as a clerk in the Company's warehouse,
and had, done them good service in this capacity ; but
knowing nothing at all of the science of government,
and ignorant of everything except of money-making, he
soon became ridiculous in his new position.
Immediately upon his arrival, Van Twiller assumed
the direction of affairs, and organized his council. This
council consisted of Jacob Jansen Hesse, Martin Gerrit-
sen, Andries Hudde, and Jacques Bentyn. CorneUus
Van Tienhoven was made book-keeper of the Company,
language was unknown in Virginia proper, coupled with the general custom of
bestowing this appellation indiscriminately upon all portions of the western world,
affords strong presumptive proof of the genuineness of the letter. If it be reallj
authentic, it is, with the exception of Isaac de Rasi^res* letters to Governor Brad-
ford and to Mr. Blommaert of Amsterdam, the only letter now extant written bj
the pioneers of New Amsterdam. The history of Ifichaelius is full of adventure.
Born in 1677 in North Holland and educated at the University of Ley den, he
settled in 1614 at Nieuwbokswouden, whence he, two years afterwards, removed
to Havre. On the capture of St. Salvador by the Dutch in 1624, he was dispatched
thither to preside over the church of the victors. The next year, the island fell
again into the hands of the Portuguese, and Michaelius, abandoning his charge, set
out on a missionary expedition to Guinea. In 1627, he returned to Holland, and
soon after, if we may rely on this letter, made his way to New Amsterdam, to enact
the part of the religious pioneer which historians have hitherto agreed in assigning
to Bogardus. He probably did not remain long in the province. The next trace
of him appears in 1637 or 88, when it was proposed by the Classis to send him again
to New Amsterdam ; but the request was reftised by the West India Company, pro-
bably on account of his advanced age. The letter in question is quaint and curious,
and gives a graphic picture of the primitive life of the early settlers.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 65
and Notelman and Van Remund retained their oflBces of
schout and koopman. The council organized, he turned
his attention at once to public improvements. The Com-
pany had authorized him to fortify the depots of the fur-
trade, and he was not slow in obeying their instructions.
The fort which had been commenced in 1626 and never
completed, and which was now in a ruinous condition,
was rebuilt, and a guard-house and barracks erected at
a heavy cost for the newly arrived soldiers. Having a
minister, a church now became indispensable. The loft
in the horse-mill in which prayers had been read for the
last seven years was abandoned, and a wooden church or
rather bam was erected, on the shore of the East River,
in Pearl between Whitehall and Broad streets ; near
to which was also constructed a parsonage and stable for
** the domine." By this appellation, the ministers of
the Dutch churches long continued to be known ; the
name is even now in vogue in some of the western
settlements of Long Island. A graveyard was also laid
out on the west side of Broadway, above the present
Morris street. Three windmills were built in the
vicinity of the fort ; so near it, indeed, that the build-
ings within the walls often intercepted the wind and
rendered them useless. Several brick and stone build-
ings for the use of the director and his officers were built
within the walls of the fort. Van Twiller also caused a
dwelling-house, bam, brewery, boat-house and other
out-buildings to be built on Farm No. 1. of the Com-
pany, extending from Wall street, northward to Hudson
street, where he himself took up his abode. The form
No 3, at Greenwich, he appropriated as his tobacco
5
66 HISTORY OFTHB
plantation. Houses were built for the corporal, the
smith, the cooper and the midwife, and several costly
dwellings were also erected at Pavonia and at Forts
Nassau and Orange, all of which were constructed at the
expense of the Company.
About this time, the commercial importance of New
Amsterdam was increased by the grant of ** staple
right ;" a sort of feudal privilege, having its basis in the
institutions of the Fatherland. By this grant, all vessels
trading along the coast, or passing up and down the
rivers, were obliged either to discharge their cargoes at
the port, or to pay certain duties in lieu thereof. This
right was valuable, for it gave to the colony the com-
mercial monopoly of the whole province.
In the person of Domine Bogardus, Van Twiller had
brought with him an unruly subject. Scarcely had he
commenced his administration, when the latter began to
rebuke him for his conduct in public affairs. Van Twil-
ler angrily resented the interference, whereupon Bogar-
dus anathematized him from the pulpit as a child of the
devil, and so incensed the governor that he refused ever
to enter the church-doors again. The people naturally
took sides in the quarrel, and the contest between
governor and domine continued to the end of the admin-
istration. In the records of the year 1638, we read that
"for slandering the Rev. E. Bogardus, a woman was
'' obliged to appear at the sound of a bell in the fort
** before the governor and council, and to say that she
"knew that he was honest and pious, and that she lied
" falsely." However this may be, it is certain that Bogar-
dus was rude and imperious, and that many charges
\
I
CITY OP NEW YORK. 67
were brought against him which were never sufficiently
refuted.
A short time before the arrival of Van Twiller, De
Vries returned with the mammoth ship New Nether-
land and a yacht, to visit his little colony of Swaanen-
dael. Mournful, indeed, was the scene that met his
eyes. Where he had left a flourishing settlement, there
was naught to be seen but blackened ruins, charred
trees, and the mouldering bones of the imhappy
colonists. De Vries sickened at the sight ; but prudently
concealing his sorrow and anger, he summoned the
Indians, gleaned from them an account of the terrible
disaster, then, instead of wreaking on them the vengeance
they had expected, dismissed them with presents to
meditate on the mercy of the white men. Such a
vengeance would have been the signal for the destruc-
tion of every white man within the province. This De
Vries well knew ; and after contracting this necessary
but detested alliance, he sailed to Virginia, and opened
a friendly intercourse with the governor. Sir John Har-
vey, who assured him that the Dutch had nothing to fear
from that side, but warned them to beware of their
Plymouth neighbors. On parting, the friendly gover-
nor sent several goats as a present to the director at
Fort Amsterdam, by whom they were gladly received,
there being as yet none in the colony.
Soon after the arrival of Van Twiller, the William, an
English ship, arrived at Manhattan, with Jacob Eelkins,
the former agent at Fort Orange, who had been dismissed
by the Company in 1632, as supercargo. Irritated by
his dismissal, Eelkins had gone over to the service of the
68 HISTORTOPTHB
English, and had now come in the interests of his new
employers to trade in furs with the Indians of the Mauri
tins River. This was contrary to the policy of the West
India Company ; and Van Twiller, who, though a bad
governor, was a good merchant, understanding the value
of the monopoly of the fur trade, refused to permit the
vessel to proceed on its way, and demanded Eelkins'
commission. This Eelkins refused to produce, declaring
that he was on British territory, discovered by an
Englishman, and that he would go up the river if it cost
him his life. The governor forbade him in the name of
the Dutch government, and ordered the flag to be hoisted
at Fort Amsterdam, and three guns to be fired in honor
of the Prince of Orange. In return for this display,
Eelkins run up the English flag by way of bravado, and
ordered a salute to be fired in honor of King Charles ;
then coolly sailed up the river in defiance of the guns of
Fort Amsterdam, leaving the astonished governor to
meditate on his aud£|,pity at his leisure.
Thunderstruck at such an act of daring, Van Twiller
summoned all the people together in the square before the
fort, now the Bowling Green, then ordering a cask of wine
and another of beer to be brought, he filled a glass, and
called on all good citizens who loved the Prince of Orange
to do the same, and to drink confusion to the English Gov-
ernment. The citizens were not slow in obeying the com-
mand ; and, indeed, this was all that they could do, for the
ship was now far beyond the guns of the fort, and safely
pursuing her journey up the river. But they were deeply
mortified at the governor's pusillanimity, and De Vries
openly taxed him with cowardice, and told him that if it
CITY OF NEW YORK
69
had been his case, he should have sent some eight-pound
beans after the saucy EngUshman and helped him down
again, but as it was now too late for that, he should cer-
tainly send the Soutberg after him and drive him down
the river. After meditating on this counsel for a few
days, the vacillating Van Twiller resolved to follow it,
and dispatched an armed force to Fort Orange, where
Wrath of Van TwUler.
70 HISTOBYOPTHB
Eelkins had pitched a tent on the shore, and was busily
engaged in trading with the natives. This tent the
soldiers speedily demolished, and, reshipping his goods,
brought his vessel back to Fort Amsterdam, where he
was required to give up his peltries, and was sent to sea
with a warning never more to interfere with the trade
of the Dutch government.
It was not long before Van Twiller, who always acted
promptly on inopportune occasions, attempted to vindi-
cate his statesmanship at De Vries' expense. The latter
wished to send his yacht through Hellegat to trade along
the coasts, a privilege to which he was entitled as a
patroon ; but the governor refused his consent, and
ordering the guns of the fort to be turned on the reced-
ing vessel, commanded her to stop and unload directly.
**The land is full of fools!" exclaimed the exasperated
De Vries, running to the Battery point where stood
the governor with some of his council, **if you want
'* to shoot, why didn't you shoot the Englishman when
** he sailed up the river ?" The governor dared not give
the order to fire, and the yacht passed on, and was soon
winding her way through the tortuous channels of the
Hellegat.
Although, in the general appropriation of patroon-
ships, no claim had been made on the country about the
Connecticut River, and the few settlers who had gone
thither had soon returned with their families to Manhat-
tan, the Dutch had constantly kept up a brisk trade with
the Indians, and as constantly asserted their right to the
territory. In the meantime, a grant of the same terri-
tory had been made to Lord Warwick by the English
CITY OF NEW YORK, 71
government ; and Van Twiller, taking alarm at the
movements of the English, determined to forestall them
by securing its possession. During the summer preced-
ing the arrival of Van Twiller, a small tract of land at
the mouth of the Connecticut River had been purchased
of the Indians, and the arms of the States General aflSxed
to a tree. Immediately after his arrival, the governor
dispatched Jacob Van Corlaer with six other agents
thither, who purchased a tract of land of the Pequods
near the site of the present city of Hartford, and built
a redoubt upon it, which they fortified with two cannon
and named Fort Good Hope.
Hearing of this encroachment, the people of Plymouth
applied to the Massachusetts colony to aid them in driv-
ing off the Dutch intruders. But, deeming the country
almost valueless on account of the diJKculty of entering
the river and the hostility of the Indian tribes in the
vicinity, the latter declined, although Governor Winthrop
dispatched a letter to Van Twiller, remonstrating with
him for encroaching upon English territory. To this
Van Twiller returned a courteous reply, proposing that
the matter should be referred to their respective govern-
ments, and hoping **that two great powers might not
"fall into contention about a little part or portion of
** these heathenish countries." The Plymouth colonists,
however, resolved on more decisive measures, and pur-
chasing a small tract of land of the Indians, just above
Fort Good Hope, dispatched Lieutenant WiUiam Holmes
thither with a picked company of men and the frame of
a small house to found an English settlement. As they
neared the Dutch post, they were hailed by Van Corlaer,
72 HISTOEYOFTHB
who threatened to fire if they proceeded. *' Fire !" was
the reply, *' we are following the commands of the gover-
'* nor of Plymouth, and, living or dead, we must obey his
'' orders." The true follower of Van Twiller, Van Corlaer
dared not fire, and Holmes ascended the river a mile and
a half higher, set up his house, and founded the settle-
ment of Windsor. Van Twiller, on hearing -of these
proceedings, served a written protest on the intruders,
and soon after sent seventy soldiers to dislodge them.
But they stood on their defence, and the Dutch com-
mander withdrew without attempting their expulsion.
In the meantime, De Vries had returned to Holland,
contending to the last with Van Twiller, who vainly
endeavored to detain him and to wring from him a tri-
bute in the shape of taxes and duties. Soon after, he
withdrew from his partnership in the patroonship of
Swaanendael, which was bought up by the Company for
the sum of fifteen thousand six hundred guilders, or six
thousand two himdred and forty dollars. About the
same time, Notelman, the schout fiscal, who had been
convicted of dishonesty in the performance of his duties,
was superseded by Lubbertus Van Dinklagen.
Trouble broke out in a new quarter. A party of
Englishmen from Point Comfort, headed by George
Holmes, took possession of the deserted trading-post of
Fort Nassau. For once. Van Twiller seems to have
acted with promptness. He at once dispatched an armed
force to South River, who dislodged the intruders and
brought them back as prisoners to Fort Amsterdam.
Just at this juncture, De Vries arrived from Holland, on
his way to Virginia. Van Twiller, at a loss how to dis-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 73
pose of his prisoners, begged him to wait for a few days ;
the unlucky Englishmen were embarked on board his
vessel, and landed two days afterwards at Point Comfort,
just in time to prevent a party of their countrymen from
setting out to rejoin them. This timely action ended
the proposed invasion, and secured to the Dutch for the
time being the undisputed possession of the South
River.
Not equally fortunate were they on the Connecticut.
In 1634, a company of emigrants from Massachusetts
founded a settlement at Wethersfield ; while another
party established themselves near the mouth of the river,
tearing down the arms of the States General which had
been afi&xed there three years before, and treating them
with contemptuous derision. To this latter settlement
they gave the name of Saybrook. Van Twiller, finding
protests unavailing, dispatched a sloop to dislodge them,
which was driven off by the English without being
suffered to land. At a loss how to act, the governor dis-
patched an account of the proceedings to his superiors,
and waited for further instructions. In the meantime,
the English occupied Springfield, .thus gaining almost
exclusive possession of the territory of the Fresh River.
About the same time, some incidents less serious
and more ludicrous occurred at Fort Amsterdam, whiqh
have been caught up by the witty historian of the
Knickerbocker times, and converted into a choice bit
of satire on the unlucky governor. Finding that Vir-
ginia was not a good place for the Dutch to trade
at, De Vries, after landing his prisoners, returned to
Fort Amsterdam, which he reached about two o'clock in
74 HISTOBYOFTHB
the morning. The whole city was asleep. Not a sen-
tinel appeared on the walls, no challenge was given, and
no one was conscious of the arrival of the vessel. At
daybreak he fired a salute of three guns. The
frightened citizens sprang from their beds and seized
their arms, the startled soldiers ran to their guns, and
the governor fancied that the English were in possession
of the city. A few minutes explained the mistake ; the
people laughed at their terror, and De Vries was heartily
welcomed back again. His vessel leaking badly, she was
hauled up into the ** Smiths Vly,'' a morass lying outside
of Pearl street between Pine and Fulton streets, where
she was careened and repaired. This "vly" or valley
afterwards became the site of the well-known Fly
Market.
Soon after De Vries' arrival, the first fire in the vicin-
ity occurred at Pavonia. Cornelius Van Voorst, the
newly appointed agent for Patroon Pauw, had just
arrived, bringing with him some choice claret, and
Van Twiller, with De Vries and Domine Bogardus,
hastened thither to greet his arrival and taste the
luxury. The party was not altogether a harmonious
one, for Van Twiller and Bogardus, who were friends
for the occasion, quarrelled with Van Voorst about a
murder which had recently been committed on his pre-
mises. They parted, however, on friendly terms, and on
their return, the agent fired a farewell salute from a
swivel that was mounted in front of his house. A spark
fell upon the thatched roof, the reeds caught, and in half
an hour the building was in ashes. Such an event had,
as yet, been hardly anticipated, and no means were at
CITY OP NEW YORK. 75
hand for extinguishing the fire ; nor indeed did any exist
until several years after.
De Vries soon after prepared to return to Europe, and
the director resolved to give a banquet in honor of his
departure. Tables were spread on the Battery in one
of the angles of the fort and a large company invited,
and Van Corker, the celebrated trumpeter of the fort,
was called upon to furnish music for the occasion. The
wine circulated freely and all were merry ; but just as
the festivity had reached its height, a couple of worthy
** koopmans,'' or supercargoes, took it into their heads to
find fault with the trumpeter. The valorous Van Cor-
laer vindicated his cause by giving them both a beating,
upon which liiey ran home for their swords, uttering
threats of the most direful vengeance. But their anger
evaporated during the night, and in the morning, says
the quaint chronicler of the times, **they feared the
** trumpeter more than they sought him." Do Vries,
after selecting Staten Island as his future residence, and
entering his claim to it through the director, set sail for
Holland, taking with him several Englishmen, who had
sold their vessel, together with two captured prizes, at
Fort Amsterdam.
Van Twiller, as has already been said, was too good
a merchant to neglect his own interests. In the siun-
mer of 1G36, he, with Jacob Van Corlaer, Adriaen Hudde
and Wolfert Gerritsen, purchased a tract of land com-
prising some fifteen thousand acres on Long Island, where
they founded New Amersfoordt, the present Flatlands.
About the same time, he granted to Roelef Jansen a
tract of thirty-one morgens or sixty-two acres of land,
76 HISTORY OFTHE
* beginning a little south of the present Warren street,
and extending along Broadway as far as Duane street,
and thence northwesterly a mile and a half to Christopher
street, thus forming a sort of unequal triangle with its
base upon the North River. This grant afterwards
became a part of the famous Trinity Church property.
Jansen died a few years after, leaving four children, and
his widow and heiress, Aneke Jans, became the wife of
Domine Bogardus. After his shipwreck and death, the
grant was confirmed by Stuyvesant to Aneke Jans, a
second time a widow with eight children. Upon the
subsequent capture of the province, the grant was again
confirmed by the English government to her heirs, who
sold it in 1671 to Colonel Lovelace, though one of the
heirs failed to join in the conveyance. It was now incor-
porated into the King's Farm, once owned by the Dutch
West India Company, and, in 1703, was presented by
Qiioen Anne to Trinity Church, at that time the
established church of the city. Yan Twiller also con-
firmed the possession of the Waal-bogt to George Jansen
de Rapelje, one of the Walloons who had emigrated
with Cornelissen Mey,* and granted to Jonas Bronck
that part of Westchester lying opposite Harlem.
Nor did Van Twiller neglect to increase his own pos-
sessions. Besides his recent purchases on Long Island,
he already had a flourishing plantation at Red Hook ; to
this he added Nutten's Island, which lay opposite it, only
separated by a narrow channel, so shoal that cattle
* The companioDs of de Rapelje, whose names, slightly changed in orthography,
niav ^till be found among the residents of the Wallabout and its yicinity, irere
L'Escuyer, Duregee, Le Sillie, Cerahaw, Conscillear, and Musserol.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 77
forded it at low water. This undoubtedly formed origin-
ally a part of Long Island. But the abrasion of the
neighboring shores by the waves, together with the fill-
ing in of the lower part of the city, have widened and
deepened the chasm, and ships now pass in safety
through Buttermilk Channel. So lately as the close of
the last century, its passage was hardly deemed safe for
boats, on account of the rocks with which it was filled ;
though market-boats, loaded with buttermilk and rowed
by women, glided through it on their way from Long
Island to the New York market, and gave it its name.
Xutten's Island, which had derived its name from its
abundance of nut-trees, was henceforth known as Gover-
nor's Island. Soon afterwards he purchased Great Barn
and Blackwell Islands in the Hellegat River ; becoming
through these acquisitions the richest landholder in the
colony. The growing rapacity of the director became
at length so'apparent that it excited public attention, and
called forth open murmurs from Van Dincklagen, the
upright and able schout-fiscal. Incensed at this audacity,
Van Twiller removed him from his office, and, retaining
his salary, which was now three years in arrear, sent him
a prisoner to Holland on a charge of contumacy. Ulrich
Lupoid was appointed as his temporary successor. But
on his arrival. Van Dincklagen, who was a man of
marked ability, represented the bad management of the
director so strongly to the States General, that they
urged the Amsterdam Chamber to recall him, and to
reinstate Van Dincklagen in his office. To this they at
first demurred, but the representations of Van Dinck*
lagen being confirmed by De Vries, they finally con-
78 HISTORYOFTHB
sented, and on the 2d of September, 1637, appointed
Wilhelm Kieft as his successor. Nor did the schout-
fiscal stop here ; he also censured Domine Bogardus so
severely, that the latter, on learning of the charges made
against him, petitioned for leave to return to Holland to
defend himself. This was denied him, but the consis-
tory of his church instituted ecclesiastical proceedings
against Van Dincklagen, which were brought several
years afterwards before the Classis of Amsterdam. Van
Dincklagen was forced to wait many years for the pay-
ment of his salary, though the States General had signi-
fied their pleasure that it should at once be paid to him.
But he finally returned with honor to New Amsterdam, to
fill one of the most important offices in the government.
One of the last events in the administration of Van
TwUler was the purchase of Pavonia from its patroon by
the West India Company. This purchase consolidated
their power, by giving them possession of* the Jersey
shore as well as of Staten Island. Swaanendael they had
before acquired, and all the patroonships with the excep-
tion of Rensselaerswyck thus reverted back to them.
ThiSj indeed, was the only one in which the system had
produced the colonization so much desired by the Com-
pany. Yet the settlement at Manhattan remained the
only one worthy of the name ; and, at this date, the his-
tory of the city and that of the province must necessarily
be inseparable. Pavonia soon lost its euphonic appella-
tion. Latinized from the uncouth name of Pauw, in the
hands of its new proprietors ; and at the present time,
the little village of Communipauw is all that is left to
remind us of the wealthy patroon.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 79
On the 28th of March, Wilhelm Kieft, the new
director, arrived in the ship Herring, at Manhattan. His
antecedents were not prepossessing. Bom at Amster-
dam and educated as a merchant, he had become a
bankrupt at Rochelle, where his portrait had been affixed
to the public gallows after the custom of the city. After
this, he had been sent to ransom some Christians in
Turkey, where he was accused of having left several
captives in bondage, retaining the money which had been
raised for the purchase of their liberty. He was a
bustling, excitable man, with some show of business
talent and considerable energy, yet testy, irritable and
capricious, without stability or mental equilibrium, and
devoid of the sound judgment and cool prudence so
necessary in the governor of a province. In some
respects, he was the superior of the heavy, indolent Van
Twiller, yet the nervous irritability which rendered him
so, involved the province in scenes of blood and horror
which it would probably have escaped beneath the plac-
able sway of the good-natured director.
Kieft immediately set to work with bustling activity,
organizing his council in such a manner as to keep the
direction of affairs in his own hands. Lupoid was con-
tinued in the office of schout. Van Tienhoven was
appointed koopman, and a Huguenot physician by the
name of Johannes la Montague, who had lately emigrated
to New Amsterdam, was admitted into the council.
This done, he set about reforming the abuses which had
crept into the colony, and repairing the disorder of pub-
lic affairs. He found no lack of business in this direc-
tion. The fort was in a ruinous condition, and all the
80 HISTORTOFTHE
guns dismounted ; the church and government build-
ings were out of repair ; but one of the three mills
which had been built was in working order, and almost
all the vessels were leaky or disabled. The few cattle
of the Company had been sold or transported to the
plantations of Van Twiller, and their farms thrown into
commons. There were abuses everywhere — private
individuals smuggled furs and tobacco, and sold powder
and ^uns to the Indians, regardless of the prohibitions
of the Company, and law and order were almost obsolete
in the colony, Kieft energetically set to work to cure
these evils, and issued a code of laws and regulations,
which were not much better heeded by the colonists
than the wordy protests of Van Twiller had been by the
English. All illegal traflSc in fiirs was forbidden under
penalty of confiscation of the goods, the selling of mus-
kets or ammunition to the Indians was made a capital
oflFence, tobacco was subject to excise, and no liquor
but wine was permitted to be sold at retail. Sailors
were forbidden to leave their ships after nightfall, hours
were fixed for all to commence and leave oflF work, and
strict laws were passed against all vice and profanity.
Thursday in each week was fixed for the session of the
coimcil as a civil and criminal court. All persons were
prohibited from leaving the island without a passport,
and strict measures were taken to restrain the illegal
traffic which had grown so dangerous to the interests of
the Company.
Meanwhile, the Duteh were threatened with a new
rival from an unexpected quarter. Minuit, the ex-
director, indignant at his abrupt dismissal, resolved to
CITY OF NEW YORK. 81
found a new colony under his own direction. With this
design, he proceeded to Stockholm, and, gaining access
to Queen Christina, described the new country to her in
such glowing language that she at once became anxious
to secure a portion of it for Sweden. The project,
indeed, was not a new one ; it had previously been pro-
posed to Gustavus Adolphus by William Usselincx, the
original projector of the Dutch West India Company,
who had favored the undertaking ; but ere it could be
carried into eflFect, Sweden's greatest monarch had found
his death on the field of Lutzen. It remained for his
daughter, aided by the counsels of the able Oxenstiem,
to carry out his project, and to secure a foothold for
Sweden in the New World. By her command, the
Key of Calmar man-of-war, and a tender called the
Griffin, were fitted out with goods suitable for traffic with
the Indians, a Lutheran clergyman and some fifty emi-
grants were embarked, and the expedition was placed
under Minuit's direction. Steering directly for the
Virginian coast, he touched at Jamestown for wood
and water ; then, proceeding Jio Delaware Bay, he pur-
chased aU the territory on the west side of the river
from Cape Henlopen to Trenton Palls, with an indefinite
extent inland, of the sachem of the country, for the con-
sideration of a kettle and a few trifles, and, taking pos-
session of the country in the name of Sweden, erected a
trading-post which he called Port Christina. This was
situated near the site of the present Wilmington, and
wqfl the first settlement within the State of Delaware.^
On learning of this new encroachment, Kieft imme-
diately served a protest on the intruders, claiming the
6
82 HISTORTOPTHB
territory as the property of the West India Company,
and declaring that he would not be answerable for the
consequences which might result from their illegal occu-
pation. Finding his remonstrances disregarded, he
applied for instructions to the Amsterdam Chamber. But,
at this time, Sweden was one of the most powerful of
the European kingdoms ; the States General, unwilling
to embroil themselves with so dangerous a neighbor,
deemed it expedieat not to pursue the matter further,
and the Swedes were permitted to continue their traffic
under protest.
Soon after this occurrence, a measure was adopted by
the Company which proved of vital importance to the
interests of the colony. Hitherto, their eflForts at coloniz-
ation had proved futile, and the patroon system had
resulted in a total failure. For the encouragement of
individual enterprise, a new charter of privileges was
granted, limiting patroonships to four miles of frontage
on navigable rivers with eight miles inland ; granting to
every person who should transport himself and five
others to the province at his own cost, two hundred
acres of land ; and conferring on all villages and cities
which should hereafter be founded, the right of choosing
their own magistrates. The monopoly of the Indian
trade was relinquished in consideration of a moderate
duty the Company only retaining the exclusive right of
transportation to and from the colony. They offered a
free passage, however, to all respectable farm'ers, with
as^much land as they could cultivate on their arrival,
subject to a quit-rent of a tenth of the produce. They
also pledged themselves to provide ministers, school-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 83
masters, and '* comforters for the sick ;" and renewed
their promise to supply the colonists with negroes. The
prohibition against making cloths was also repealed. The
Reformed Dutch Religion was declared the established
faith of the province, though the fullest toleration was
granted to all other sects. No distinction was made
between foreigners and Hollanders, the only obligation
imposed on the former being an oath of fidelity to the
Dutch government.
Allured by these liberal offers, numerous wealthy emi-
grants soon flocked into the colony. In 1639, De Vries
returned to Manhattan with a party of colonists, and
erected some buildings and began a colony on Staten
Island. In the course of the same year, Jochem Pieter-
sen Kuyter and Comelis Mel3m, both men of means and
influence, arrived with a number of emigrants at New
Amsterdam, where they soon became prominent mem-
bers of the colony. Some Englii^h indentured servants,
who had served out their time in Virginia, came also to
Manhattan, where they carried on the cultivation of
tobacco, and introduced cherry and peach-trees which
had hitherto been unknown in the settlement. Attracted
by the greater religious freedom in the province, several
valuable settlers came in from New England, among
whom was Captain John Underbill, who had distin-
guished himself in the Pequod war, and had afterwards
become Governor of Dover. The strangers were cor-
dially welcomed, and at once inducted into all the privi-
leges of citizenship, and they soon grew warmly attached
to the interests of their adopted city. The island was
fast losing its savage aspect, full thirty farms and planta-
84 HISTORTOFTHB
tions were in thrifty cultivation, and the country outside
the walls of the fort resembled a blooming garden.
The land in the vicinity of Manhattan, both on the
Long Island and Jersey shored, and northward on the
mainland, was fast being brought under cultivation. In
the summer of 1638, Kieft had purchased for the Com-
pany a large tract of land on Long Island in the vicinity
of the present Newtown, and commenced the settlement
of the country adjacent to the Waal-bogt. In the fol-
lowing summer, Antonie Jansen de Rapelje, the br6ther
of the founder of the Walloon settlement, obtained a
grant of a hundred morgens, or nearly two hundred
acres of land, opposite Coney Island, and commenced the
settlement of Gravesend. Rapelje, or Jansen, as he was
commonly called, was a man of prodigious strength and
stature, and was reputed by many to be a Moor by
birth, a circimistance probably owing to his adjunct
of De Salee, under which name his patent was granted,
and by which he was often known. This report, how-
ever, was without foundation ; he was a native Walloon,
and the suffix to his name was probably derived from
the river Saale in France, and not from Salee in
Morocco. For many years after the Dutch dynasty had
passed away, his farm at Gravesend continued to be
known as Anthony Jansen's Bouwery.* Thomas Belcher,
* William Jansen de Rapelje, the third brother of this family, distingnished as hav-
ing been among the earliest settlers of Long Island, and the founders of the present
city of Brooklyn, settled at New Amsterdam, where he died without children. By a
curious caprice, the descendants of Antonie have discarded the name of Rapelje,
retaining that of Jansen, or Johnson as they are more commonly called ; while
the family of George have dropped the Jansen, and are known by the name of
Rape^e or Rapelyea.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 85
»
an Englishman, soon after obtained a tract of land at
Brooklyn, and George Holmes and Thomas Hall, the
leaders of the unsuccessful Virginian expedition against
Fort Nassau, who had now become residents of Man-
hattan, obtained farms near Deutel's, now Turtle Bay on
the East River. In the spring of 1640, Kieft purchased
of the Indians in behalf of the Company, all the territory
comprised within the present hmits of Rings and Queens
Counties which was not already in their possession. De
Vries soon after estabhshed another colony at Tappan
on lands which he had previously purchased of the
Indians, to which he gave the name of Vriesendael.
The following year, another colony was established
within an hour's walk of the former by myndert Vander
Voorst in the valley of the Hackensack River; and
about the same time, Cornells Melyn obtained a grant
from the Amsterdam Chamber for all that part of Staten
Island which was not already occupied by De Vries.
Previously to this, Kieft had established a distillery and
buckskin manufactory there on his own accoimt, and had
stationed a few soldiers in a small redoubt on one of the
headlands, with orders to signal to the garrison in the
fort the arrival of vessels in the lower bay.
The English, meanwhile, continued their encroach-
ments upon the territory of the Connecticut, and had
almost succeeded in forcing the Dutch from Fort Good
Hope, the only foothold which they possessed in that
region. Not content with this, they next attempted to
gain possession of Long Island also. In 1635, Lord
Stirling had obtained a grant from the Plymouth Coun-
cil of a part of New England, together with Long Island ;
y
86 , CITY OP NEW YORK.
and acting on this authority, he dispatched James Far-
rett, a Scotchman, to take possession of it and dispose
of it in his name. Parrett at once proceeded to the
island, and selected Shelter and Bobbins' Islands in
Peconic Bay for his own use, first purchasing the land
of the Indians, Soon after, he confirmed the purchase
of Gardiner's Island, which had previously been made by
Lyon Qtirdiner, in the name of Lord Stirling. The fol-
lowing year, Gardiner removed with his family to the
island, and founded the first settlement in this region.
Parrett next granted a patent of the lands in the vicinity
of Manhassett to a company of emigrants from Lynn,
who proceeded thither, and tearing down the arms which
the Dutch had affixed to a tree, proceeded to establish
a colony there. Penhawitz, the friendly sachem of the
country, instantly dispatched a messenger to Kieft to in-
form him of the aggression ; whom Van Tienhoven at
once dispatched to the spot with an armed force to break
up the incipient settlement. He arrested the party and
brought them to Manhattan, whence they were sent
back to New England, after signing an agreement never
more to trespass upon the Dutch territory.
Disappointed in their attempt to found a colony on the
western part of the island, the same parties obtained
another grant from Parrett of lands on the eastern part,
and, in 1640, commenced the settlement of Southampton.
In the same year, the neighboring town of Southold
was settled by a company of emigrants from Norfolk-
shire, England, who, after spending a short time at New
Haven, had crossed the Sound, and secured the lands in
the vicinity of Yinnicock, now Greenport. But these
CITY OF NEW YORK. 87
distant settlements scarcely troubled the Dutch authori-
ties, who, content with maintaining their claim to the
western part of the island, suffered the eastern colonists
to remam in peace. In 1648, another party of colonists
from Lynn took possession of the easternmost part of the
island, and founded the town of Easthampton. With the
exception of a small colony that was founded at
Setauket, on the north side of the island, in 1655, these
were the only English settlements that were made on
Long Island during the rule of the Dutch dynasty.
The Swedes, meanwhile, had continued to carry on
a flourishing trade with the Indians in the neighborhood
of Fort Christina. In the beginning, they experienced
hardships and privations ; at one time, indeed, rendered
desperate by famine, they were on the point of breaking
up their little settlement and removing to Manhattan,
where Eaeft had promised them a cordial reception.
Fortunately, the day before the projected emigration, a
ship laden with colonists and supplies appeared in the
river. Others soon followed, and the colony rapidly
increased. In 1641, Peter Minuit died, and was buried
at Fort Christina. Peter Hollendaere, a Swede, suc-
ceeded him in the command.
But the success of these Swedish colonists on the
South River was too marked not to excite the cupidity
of the New Englanders. In 1640, a bark was fitted out
at New Haven by a merchant (George Lamberton), and
dispatched with some fifty families to the shores of the
Delaware to foimd a settlement. On the way, they
touched at Manhattan, where they were warned by Kieft
to desist from all enterprises in that quarter. Disregard-
88 HISTORY OFTHE
ing his injunctions, they proceeded on their way, and
established themselves, a part on Salem Creek, and the
rest on the Schuylkill. Enraged at this interference
with the Dutch trade, Kieft fitted out two yachts with
a force of fifty men to dislodge the intruders ; but
trouble breaking out among the Indians on Staten Island,
he was forced for the time to abandon the enterprise.
In the following year, he dispatched an expedition,
which, seconded by the Swedes, broke up both the
settlements, and brought back the English with their
goods to Fort Amsterdam, whence they were sent back
to New Haven. Lamberton, who persisted in trading at
the South River, was soon after arrested and brought to
Manhattan, where he was compelled to pay full duties
on his cargo. The English demanded satisfaction for
the damages done their people, which they estimated at
a thousand poimds, but Kieft boldly justified his con-
duct, and refused to accede to their demand. The con-
troversy continued, and the English annoyed their neigh-
bors so greatly that Kieft proclaimed a non-intercourse
with the colony of Connecticut. This state of aflFairs
proving embarrassing, the colonists soon opened a nego-
tiation with Kieft for the purchase of the territory about
the Dutch post ; and this faiUng, both parties appealed
to their respective powers in England and Holland for a
redress of their grievances. But civil war was now rag-
ing in England between the king and the parliament,
and though a correspondence was opened between the
two governments, the settlement of the question was de-
ferred till a more convenient season. Meanwhile, the Eng-
lish persisted in their design of crowding out the Dutch
CITY OF NEW YORK.
89
L
CITY OP NEW YORK. 91
from a territory which indubitably belonged to them,
both by right of discovery and that of first possession.
The settlement at Port Amsterdam — ^the embryo New
York — continued to increase in numbers and prosperity.
Among the late accessions were many men of wealth
and public spirit, who were ambitious for the advance-
ment of the colony. The settlement was growing into
respectable proportions. A few brick and stone houses
had been erected for the accommodation of the governor
and officials, but the greater part were unpretending
Uttle cottages, with thatched roofs and wooden chimneys,
standing with the gable end to the street. Until 1642,
city lots and streets were unknown ; the settlers chose
land wherever it was most convenient for them, and
being gregarious in habits, streets were formed ahnost
by instinct. This fact accoimts reasonably enough for
the crooked ways of the lower part of our metropolis.
Two roads leading from the fort towards the northern
part of the island had been formed by common consent ;
the one, afterwards known as the Boston or Old Post
Road, leading from the fort up the line of Broadway to the
end of the Park, then winding roimd through Chatham,
Duane, William and Pearl streets to avoid a steep hill
with a brook at the foot at Roosevelt street, and continu-
ing its course up the line of the Bowery ; the other,
extending from the fort through Stone street to Hanover
Square, and thence along the river shore to the ferry,
where the ferryman, Comelis Dircksen, who owned
a farm hard by, came at the sound of the horn that
hung against a tree, and ferried the waiting passen-
ger across the river in his little skifi* for the moderate
92 HISTORY OP THE
charge of three stivers in wampum. This ferry, in the
earliest days of the city, was established between the
nearest points of contact of the opposite shores, that is,
from the vicinity of Peck Slip to a point a Uttle below
the Fulton ferry landing at Brooklyn.
At this time, and for many years after, Pearl street
formed the edge of the river. It is at no very distant
date, indeed, that Wat^r, Front and South streets have
been reclaimed from their river beds and made to do
their duty as a stanch support to commerce. From the
old yellow house — one of the last relics of olden times —
now standing on the northwest comer of Pearl and
Water streets, one could easily throw stones into the river
which flowed along through Water street at the time of
its erection. In the days of Wilhelm Kieft, this street
was selected as the site of the up-town residences of the
wealthy burghers on account of its fine river prospect.
The ferryman Dircksen owned the land directly oppo-
site the ferry ; the tract above of thirty-three acres,
extending up to the vicinity of Franklin Square, was
owned by Henry Bressar. Above this lay Wolfert's
Marsli, the property of Wolfert Van Couwenhoven,
covering the Roosevelt street district. Between the
lands of Dircksen, and Wall street, which formed the
northern boundary of the city, the lands along the line
of the street were owned by David Provoost, Philip de
Tru}^ Cornells Van Tienhoven, Laurens Vanderwel, aud
Govert Loockermans, the most of whom were agents in
the Company's employ. On the west side of Broadway,
above the graveyard, stood the country seats of Messrs.
Vandiegrist and Van Dyck. But the most of the houses
^
CITY OP NEW TOBK,
93
CITTOPNBWYORK. 95
were clustered at the lower end of the town about the
walls of the fort. In Whitehall street, stood the parson-
age, with its garden of variegated tulips intersected by
plain alleys of clipped box and cedars. In close proxim-
ity stood the bakery, brewery, and warehouse of the
Company. In South WiUiam near Pearl street was the
old horsemill, erected by Minuit, and since superseded
by the windmills of Van Twiller. One of these stood on
State street, the most prominent object in the ciiy as
seen from the river. The fort itself was bounded by the
Bowling Green, Bridge, Whitehall and State streets.
The former was knowii as "the plain," and was a valu-
able institution, both in peace and war. It was the vil-
lage green, where the people erected their May poles,
and danced on holidays ; it served also as the parade
ground of the soldiers of the fort, and more than once,
had it witnessed the departure of a warlike expedition.
Pearl street was probably the street first occupied — ^the
oldest in the annals of the city ; the first houses were
built on it in 1633. Bridge street came next in order,
and a deed is stiU on record whereby Abraham Van
Steenwyck sells to Anthony Van Fees a lot on this street,
thirty feet front by one hundred and ten feet deep, for
the sum of twenty-four guilders, or nine dollars and sixty
cents — ^the earliest conveyance of property now on record
in this city. Whitehall, Stone, Broad, Beaver and Market-
field streets were built on soon after. In 1642, the first
grant of a city lot east of the fort was made to Hendrick
Hendricksen Kip. The following year, several grants of
lots on the lower end of Broadway, or Heere Straat as
as it was then called, were made to different individuals
96 HISTORY OFTHE
Martin Krigier was the first grantee of a lot on this street,
opposite the Bowling Green, containing about eighty-six
rods. On this he built the well-known ** Krigier 's
Tavern," which soon became a place of fashionable
resort. Upon its demolition, the " King's Arms Tavern "
was erected in its stead. This afterwards became the
head-quarters of General Gage, the commandant of the
fort and commander-in-chief of the British forces at the
breaking out of the Revolution. Transformed into the
Atlantic Gtirdens, No. 9 Broadway, it still remains stand-
ing, one of the few relics of the olden time ; the more
remarkable for being but the second structure that has
occupied the site since the foundation of the city. Other
grantees soon purchased lots, and streets became fixed
facts in the lower part of the city, though no systematic
effort was made for their regulation until after the arrival
of Stuyvesant. The price of lots averaged at about
fourteen dollars ; they were laid out in uneven figures to
suit the course of the streets, containing from thirty to a
hundred and twenty-five feet, according to the location.
In 1641, Baeft instituted two annual fairs for the
encouragement of agriculture, the first for cattle, to be
held on the 15th of October, and the second for hogs, to
be held on the 1st of November, upon the BowUng
Green. This opened the way for another improve-
ment. As yet, no tavern had been erected within
the settlement for the accommodation of strangers,
and the numerous visitors from the New England
colonies as well as from the interior were compelled
to avail themselves of the hospitalities of the director.
The fairs swelled the number, and Baeft, finding the tax
1
CITY OF NEW YORK
97
becoming a heavy one, in 1642 erected a Urge stone
tavern at ilie Company's expense for their accommoda-
tion. This tavern was situated on the east shore of the
river, near the present Coenties Slip, and was afterwards
transformed into a city hall or Stadt huys.
' Stadt Huys," at Coenties Slip
The church which had been built by Van Twiller, and
which was but a barn at best, was becoming dilapidated,
and several of the settlers, headed by De Vries, urged
the erection of a new one. '* It was a shame," they said,
**that the English, who had such fine churches in their
*' settlements, should see them worshipping in a mean
**bam, when they had plenty of fine wood and stone
**and oyster-shells for lime at their very doors.'' It is
more probable that they feared an attack from the
Indians in the old structure outside the walls of the foft,
7
r
98 HISTORYOFTHE
but this they did not choose to assign as their motive.
The governor consented, and proposed, doubtless for the
same reason, that the church should be erected within
the walls of the fort. To this arrangement, many
demurred. They objected that the fort was already
crowded with buildings, and that the church would in-
tercept the southeast wind and obstruct the working of
the windmill on the shore of tlie North River ; but the
director remained firm, and the site was finally agreed
upon. Jochem Pietersen Kuyter, and Jan Jansen
Damen, with De Vries and Kieft, were appointed ** kirke-
meesters," to superintend the building of the edifice, and
nothing was wanting but the necessary funds.
How to obtain them was the question. Kieft, on his
part, promised to advance a thousand guilders on the
Company's account, and De Vries headed a private sub-
scription-list with a hundred more, but this was not
nearly sufficient, and the citizens were not in a Uberal
himior. A little management extricated the projectors
from their difficulty. At this juncture, a daughter of Do-
mine Bogardus was opportunely married. The principal
citizens were invited to the wedding, the wine circulated
freely, and all were merry. When the festivity had
reached its height, the subscription paper Was produced,
and the excited guests vied with each other in the
amount of their donations. There were some the next
morning who would fain have recalled their reckless
Uberality ; but repentance availed them nothing, the
money was subscribed, and the work went on.
A contract was made with John and Richard Ogden
of Stamford for the mason-work of a church of rock-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 99
Btone, seventy-two feet long, fifty-two wide and sixteen
high, at a cost of twenty-five hundred guilders, with a
bonus of a hundred more, should the work prove satis-
factory. The roof was covered with split oaken shingles,
then called wooden slates. In the front wall was
inserted a marble slab with the inscription, " Ao. Do.
** MDCXLII. W. Kieft Dr. Gr. Heeft de Gerneenten dese
^'Tempel doen Bouwen ;'' which, being translated, gives
the somewhat equivocal sentence, "Anno Domini, 1642,
**Wilhelm Kieft, Director-General, hath the Common-
" alty caused to build this Temple." When the fort was
demolished in 1787 to make room for the Government
House, the stone was discovered, buried in the earth,
and was removed to the belfry of the old Dutch Church
in Garden street, where it remained until both were
destroyed in the conflagration of 1835. The church was
styled the St. Nicholas, in honor of the tutelary saint of
New Amsterdam. The town bell was removed to the
belfi^^, whence it regulated all the affairs of the city ;
ringing time for laborers, summoning courts of justice,
ringing merry peals for weddings, tolUng out fiineral
knells, and calling the people on Sundays to their devo-
tions.
Better order, too, was beginning to be observed in the
colony. The director had succeeded in part in enforcing
his laws, and in restraining contraband trade ; as well as
in checking the importation of bad wampum into the
colony, which had been a source of serious annoyance
to the settlers, by reducing its value from four to six
beads for a stuyver. This wampimi, or seawant, as it
was properly called, merits a more extended notice than
100 HISTORYOPTHK
has hitherto been given it. It was of two kinds, the
wampum or white, and the suckanhock sucki, or black
seawant — the former being made from the stem of the
periwinkle, and the latter from the purple coating of the
hard clam. These were rounded and polished into
beads, and pierced with sharp stones, then strung upon
the sinews of animals, and woven into belts of different
sizes. The black beads were accounted twice as valuable
as the white, the latter being made the standard of
valuation. A string a fatliom long was worth about four
guilders. Although seawant was the generic name of
the currency, the wampum, strictly speaking, being only
the white beads, among the Dutch and English the lat-
ter name was universally applied to it. The best was
manufactured on Long Island, called by the aborigines
Sewanhacky, or the Isle of Shells. The seawant of the
Iroquois and New England Indians was inferior in
quality, and rough and badly strung. Indeed, it seems
to have been unknown among the New England tribes
before 1627, when Isaac de Rasi^res, the koopman of
New Amsterdam, when on an embassy to Plymouth,
purchased corn with it from the English settlers. Find-
ing it convenient as a circulating medium, the Indians
soon learned the art of its manufacture, and it was not
long before the cunning New Englanders succeeded in
draining New Netherland of its finely polished seawant in
payment for their goods, and introducing large quantities
of their imperfect beads in turn. Nor was this all ;
beads of porcelain were manufactured in Europe and put
into circulation among the colonists, and the evil grew
so alarming that, in 1641, the council published an ordi-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 101
nance with the sanction of Kieft, declaring that **a
great deal of bad seawant, imported from other places,
was in circulation, while the good, splendid sewant,
usually called Manhattans sewant, was out of sight or
exported, which must cause the ruin of the country."
To remedy this evil, the ordinance provided that in future
all coarse seawant, weU stringed, should pass at six for
one stuy ver ; while the well polished should be valued at
four for a stuyver. This ordinance is the first on record
for the regulation of the exportation of specie in the
colony. In 1627, they were again reduced from six to
eight for a stuyrer.
About this time, too, the increasing intercourse with
the English settlements rendered it necessary that some
provision should be made in respect to correspondence
in the English language. Dutch was of course the lan-
guage of the settlement ; Kieft knew something of Eng-
Ush, but his officers were ignorant of it, and this was
often embarrassing. It was therefore resolved that an
English secretary was indispensable ; George Baxter
was appointed to the office, with an annual salary of two
hundred and fifty guilders ; and the English language was
thus first recognized in New Amsterdam.
CHAPTER III.
1642—1664.
The Indian War— Petnu Stayresant— New Amsterdam becomes New York.
A. CLOUD had long been gathering over the colony , it
now burst with terrific fury. At the period in which
our chapter opens, the colonists were involved in the
horrors of an Indian war — a war which devastated the
little settlement, and the bloody tragedies of which were
long perpetuated in legends and traditions. To better
depict its rise and progress, it will be necessary to re-
trace the events of a few years, and to glance briefly at
the causes which had thus transformed the friendship of
the natives into bitter hostility.
For some years past, an unfriendly feeUng had gradu-
ally been springing up between the settlers and the
Indians. The better to carry on the fur trade, the Dutch
had separated from each other, and scattered over the
interior of the province, where they had allured the
natives to their houses by supplying them with liquor,
and treating them with great familiarity ; and had bar-
tered guns and ammunition in exchange for their furs,
despite the laws to the contrary. The natives thus
CITY OF NEW YORK. 103
became well supplied with fire-arms, and also gained a
knowledge of the numbers and habits of the settlers.
This was especially the case with the Mohawks in the
neighborhood of the colony of Rensselaerswyck. In the
vicinity of New Amsterdam, stricter regulations were
observed, and the colonists were strictly prohibited from
selling guns and ammunition to the Indians. This excited
the jealousy of the river tribes, who accused the Dutch
of partiality to their enemies. The cattle of the settlers
often strayed into the unfenced corn-fields of their Indian
neighbors, who revenged themselves for the mischief by
shooting them down. Many of the natives were at this
time employed as house and farm servants in the colony,
who often committed petty thefts and ran away, to
acquaint their tribes with the domestic arrangements of
their masters.
In the midst of the bitter feelings which had been
stirred up by these petty aggressions, Kieft rashly deter-
mined to levy a tribute of corn, furs and wampum upon
the Indians, under the pretext that the government in-
curred heavy expenses in protecting them from their
enemies. This excited the indignation and contempt of
the natives, who well knew that they received no pro-
tection from the soldiers at Fort Amsterdam. They
could not understand why they should be compelled to
support the Dutch because they had suffered them to live
peaceably in their country. **The sachem must be a
'' mean fellow," they said ; ** he had come to live among
" them without an invitation, and now wanted them to
*' supply him with maize for nothing."
At this juncture, a party of Dutch, on their way to the
104
HISTORY OF TH]
Indiami bringing Tribute.
South River, landed at Staten Island and stole somi
hogs belonging to De Vries ; the blame of which was laic
on the Raritans, a tribe on the west shore of the Hudson,
who were also accused of having attacked a yacht, and
stolen a canoe from its crew.
The impetuous Kieft resolved at once to punish the
offenders, and, on the 16th of July, 1640, dispatched
Koopman Van Tienhoven with seventy men, to demand
immediate reparation. On reaching the settlement, Van
Tienhoven demanded the restitution of the property.
But nothing less than the blood of the natives would
CITY OF NEW YORK. 106
satisfj^ the men under his command. After vainly re-
monstrating, Van Tienhoven left them to their work of
destruction, and returned to the fort. The soldiers fell
on the innocent RariUns, burned their crops, killed ten
of their warriors, and returned to New Amsterdam, hav-
ing lost one of their own men in the encounter. Thus
was laid the foundation of a hloody war, which threatened
for a time to destroy the infant colony, and wliieh
prudent management might easily have averted.
This unprovoked outrage naturally awakened a desire
for vengeance in the hearts of the Raritans. While await-
ing a fitting moment, they amused the director with over-
tures for peace ; then, suddenly falling upon the plantation
of De Vries at Staten Island, they burned his dwelling
and tobacco house, and killed four of his planters.
Incensed at the consequences of his own folly, the
governor determined to exterminate the whole tribe,
and allured the river Indians to assist him by offering
a bounty of ten fathoms of wampum for the head of
every Raritan, and twenty for the heads of the actual
murderers. It was not long before Pacham, a chief of
the Tankitekes or Haverstraw Indians, came in with the
hand of the dead chief of the party as a token that he
had earned the price of blood. Terrified at the power
of their foes, the Raritans sued for peace, and hostilities
were for a time suspended.
But it was only to change the scene of warfare. An
Indian never forgets an injury, and the memory of his
uncle's murder had long been rankling in the breast of
the Weckquaesgeek boy who had witnessed the foul deed
in the days of Minuit. The boy had now gi'own into
106 HISTORY OP THE
a man, and, according to the Indian custom, the duty
devolved upon him of offering up a victim to the manes
of his murdered kinsman. Twenty years had passed
since the murder ; the Dutch, if they had ever known,
had forgotten it; but the memory was fresh in the mind
of the young Indian, and a harmless old wheelwright,
by the name of Claes Smits, who dwelt in a Uttle house
near Deuters Bay, was chosen by him as the victim of
his revenge. Stopping at the house of the old man one
day, under the pretext of bartering some beaver-skins
for blankets, the Indian struck him dead with an axe
while he was stooping over the chest in which he kept
his goods, then, rifling the house, escaped with his booty.
A judicious governor would have overlooked this
offence, heinous as it seems, in view of the consequences.
The stern law of Indian justice, blood for blood, had
been satisfied, the murder could not be undone, and to
seek to avenge it was to endanger the lives of the whole
community. But Kieft, who thirsted for the extermina-
tion of the Indians, refused to be satisfied with anything
less than the blood of the offender, and demanded him
of his tribe, who refused to give him up, saying that he
had but avenged his kinsman after the custom of the
nation. Upon receiving this answer, the first impulse of
Kieft was to declare an immediate war. But the people
remonstrated — scattered as they were, over the island on
their farms and bouweries, such a proceeding menaced
them with instant destruction ; and Kieft, perceiving
that he would be held responsible for the consequences
of such a war, reluctantly called a council of the prin-
cipal citizens to consult together in the emergency.
i
CITY OF NEW YORK. 107
They assembled in the fort on the 28th of August, 1641,
and formed the first public assembly that ever convened
on the island of Manhattan.
To this assembly, Kieft submitted these propositions :
Whether the murder of Claes Smits should not be
avenged ? — Whether, in case the tribe refused to surren-
der the murderer, the whole village should not be
destroyed ? — In what manner and when should this be
executed ? and by whom could it be eflFected ?
The assembly at once chose '' Twelve Select Men," to
act as their representatives in this matter. These first
representatives of the people were Jacques Benlyn,
Marjn Adriaensen, Jan Jansen Damen, Hendrick Jan-
sen, David Pietersen de Vries, Jacob Stoffelsen, Abram
Molenaar, Frederick Subbertsen, Jochem Pietersen Kuy-
ter, Gerrit Dircksen, George Rapelje, and Abram
Planck ; all Hollanders. Of these, De Vries was chosen
president. In answer to the propositions of Kieft, they
replied that, while the murder of Smits ought to be
avenged, "God and the opportunity " should be taken
into consideration. They advised that preparations
should be made for war, that coats of mail should be
provided for the soldiers, and that two parties, headed
by the director in person, should march against the
Weckquaesgeek village in the hunting season, if they
still refused to deliver up the murderer ; but that, in the
meantime, every effort should be made to bring the
affair to a peaceful termination, and to avert a war with
the natives. De Vries, though he had been the prin-
cipal sufferer, having witnessed the destruction of his
colonies both at Swaanendael and at Staten Island, was
108 HISTORY OP THE
earnestly opposed to war. The Company, too, was
averse to it, and had constantly directed the colonists to
keep peace with the natives, as they valued their own
safety.
These peaceful counsels did not suit the temper of the
vengeful director. But the Twelve Men succeeded in
postponing the war for a season, then turned their
attention to public affairs. The number of the council
being optional with the director, Kieft's consisted only
of himself and La Montague, Kieft having two votes and
Montague one. The Twelve Men demanded that the
council should be reorganized and increased at least to
five, that four of these should be elected by the people,
and that judicial proceedings should only be had before
a full board. They also demanded that the militia
should be mustered annually, and that the Company
should furnish half a pound of powder to each man ;
that the people should be allowed to visit vessels arriv-
ing from abroad, and to trade freely with neighboring
places, subject to the duties of the Company. Besides
this, they required that the English should be prohibited
from selling cows and goats within the province ; and
that a greater increase should be made in the value of
the provincial currency.
These bold demands irritated the director beyond
expression; but as he could only thus gain their consent
to the war that he so ardently desired, he consented to
make some concessions. A complete council, he said,
was daily expected from Holland ; he was willing, how-
ever, that the people should choose four men, two of
whom were to be chosen annually, who should be
CITY OF NEW YORK. 109
called into the council when necessary, and should
assemble occasionally to consult upon public affairs. The
other demands he granted without much reluctance,
refusing only to permit the people to visit vessels from
abroad, or to furnish powder to the mUitia for practice.
In return, he wrung from them a reluctant consent to the
war, and on the 18th of February, 1642, dissolved the body.
Having at last obtained the formal consent of the peo-
ple to commence hostilities, Kieft dispatched a party of
eighty men against the Weckquaesgeeks with orders to
exterminate them by fire and sword. The party was
intrusted to the command of Hendrick Van Dyck, and
accompanied by a guide who professed to know the
country. Night set in, however, before they reached
the Indian village, the guide lost his way and Van Dyck
his temper, and the party returned, innocent of the death
of a single Indian. The Wecquaesgeeks, discovering from
the trail of the white men the danger to which they had
been exposed, became terrified and sued for peace, pro-
mising to deliver up the murderer of Smits — a promise,
by the way, which they never performed.
While these negotiations were pending, a trader made
an Indian drunk, and stole from him a dress of beaver
skins. On regaining his senses, the incensed savage,
meeting De Vries, told him of the theft, and vowed to
shoot the first white man he should meet. De Vries
tried to dissuade him from his purpose, but in vain. A
few days after, he shot an Englishman on Staten Island,
and afterwards, a Dutch colonist at Newark Bay.
The frightened sachems hastened to New Amsterdam,
and offered two hundred fathoms of wampum as an
110 HISTORY OF THE
indemnity for the murder, which Kieft refused, demand-
ing the immediate surrender of the murderer. The
sachems pleaded that he was the son of a chief, and that
he had gone two days' journey oflf, among the Tankitekes,
whence it was impossible to retake him. ** Why do you
*' sell brandy to our young men ?'' said they ; *' they are
'* not used to it, and it makes them crazy. Even your
"own mfin, who are used to it, get drunk sometimes,
** and fight with knives. Sell no more fire-water to the
** Indians, and you will have no more murders." But
this reasoning failed to satisfy the implacable director,
and the sachems returned sorrowfully to Vriesendael
with their slighted oflFering, while Kieft sent a messenger
to the Tankitekes to demand the head of the fugitive.
Before the Tankitekes had time to accede to the
demand of the director, they were attacked by a new
foe from an unexpected quarter. A band of Mohawks
made a descent upon the river Indians, and, killing and
making prisoner^ of many, forced them to flee from their
homes to seek protection from the Dutch. Hundreds of
the half naked and homeless savages fled to Manhattan
in the depth of winter to implore shelter from their
dreaded enemies. More than a thousstnd encamped at
Pavonia. Some, crossing to Manhattan, settled at Cor-
laer's Hook, where the more compassionate of the
colonists supplied them with food, and counted on the
occasion to inspire them with lasting gratitude and
friendship for the whites. Despite the jealousies and
hostilities which had so lately prevailed,' the Indians were
not yet estranged from the colonists. They stUl had a
confidence in the superior power of the white man, and
CITY OF NEW YORK. Ill
this confidence might have been strengthened bj judi-
cious policy. But a diflferent spirit prevailed in the
councils of the director. At this time, there were two
parties in New Amsterdam, the peace party under De
Vries, and the war party, headed by Van Tienhoven.
At a Shrovetide feast at the house of Jan Jansen Damen,
when all were merry with wine, the host, with Adriaen-
sen and Planck, presented a petition drawn up by Van
Tienhoven to the governor, and, feigning to speak in
the name of the Twelve Men, their colleagues, urged
him to avenge the murder of Smits by an instant attack
on the defenceless Indians whom God had thus delivered
into their hands.
The proposal chimed with the wishes of the director,
who, drinking a toast to the success of the enterprise,
instantly dispatched a party of men under the command
of Sergeant Rodolf to Pavonia, and another headed by
Maryn Adriaensen to Corlaer's Hook, to destroy the un-
armed savages in the name of the commonalty. It was
in vain that Domine Bogardus warned Kieft against this
violence, that Councillor la Montague begged him to
wait until the arrival of the next ship from HoUand, and
that Captain De Vries declared that hostilities could not
legally be commenced without the consent of the peo-
ple ; for his sole reply, Kieft took De Vries aside, and
showed him his soldiers, ready to cross over to Pavonia.
** The order has gone forth ; it cannot be recalled," said
he.
At midnight, on the twenty-fifth of February, 1643,
this order was executed, and one of the most terrible
tragedies enacted that ever disgraced the annals of a
112 HISTORY OP THE
civilized nation. The Indians, surprised in the midst of
their slumbers, were slaughtered without resistance.
Chief and warrior, mother and child, old and young, all
met the same fate — all were dispatched by the muskets
of their enemies, or driven into the river to perish there.
Eighty Indians were slaughtered at Pavonia. So sud-
den was the attack that they knew not who were their
murderers, and died believing themselves slain by the
Mohawks. The humane De Vries sat by the kitchen
fire at the director's, listening mournfully to the shrieks
of the victims that were wafted across the river from
Pavonia, when an Indian and squaw who had escaped in
a canoe from the scene of the massacre, rushed into the
house to implore his protection. **The Fort Orange
'* Indians have fallen upon us; we come to hide our-
'* selves in the fort," said they. *' It is no time to hide
** yourselves in the fort ; no Indians have done this deed,''
answered De Vries, pityingly. **It is the work of the
*' Swannekens — the Dutch.'' And he led them from the
gate, and watched them until they were hid in the shel-
ter of the forest.
In the meantime, a similar massacre was being per-
petrated at Corlaer's Hook. The party headed by
Maryn Adriaensen, a noted freebooter, had fallen upon
the sleeping savages, and murdered them all in cold
blood. Daylight ended the tragedy, and the party re-
turned to Fort Amsterdam in triumph, with thirty
prisoners and the heads of several of their victims, where
they were received with joy by the director ; and with
sorrow by the citizens, who thus saw the door opened to
long and bloody war. On Wilhelm Kieft rests the sole
CITY OF NEW YORK
113
Massacre of Indians at Pavonia.
responsibility of this atrocious deed, which was neither
suggested nor sanctioned by the people of New Amster-
dam.
Stimulated by the success of their neighbors, some of
the settlers at New Amersfoordt soon after petitioned
for leave to attack the Indians in their vicinity. Res-
trained by the remonstrances of Bogardus and De Vries,
Kieft refused his consent, on the grounds that they had
always been friendly to the Dutch, and icere hard to con-
quer; but added that in case they should prove hostile,
8
114 HISTORY OF THE
every man was at liberty to defend himself as best he
could. It was not long before some demonstrations on
the part of these Indians were construed into hostilities
by the covetous settlers, and made the pretext for rob-
bing them of their com. The natives attempted to defend
their property, and in the struggle lost three of their men.
Enraged at this injustice, the Long Island Indians
joined with the river tribes in avenging their wrongs.
Eleven tribes banded together and proclaimed open war
against the colonists. The retribution was terrible. The
swamps and morasses of the island were filled with lurk-
ing Indians, watching for opportunities to shoot down
the colonists while at work in the fields, drive off their
cattle, set fire to their houses, and rob, kill, and plun-
der. The peaceful and smiling country was quickly
transformed into a wilderness. Men were shot down in
broad daylight, and women and children carried into
captivity ; fences were torn down, trees uprooted, and
thrifty bouweries laid waste in the general ruin. The
affrighted settlers fled within the walls of the fort, now
their only place of safety. Every thicket outside con-
cealed a foe, and no place was safe from the bullet of the
subtile enemy. The settlements on Long Island, West
Chester and the Jersey shores all shared the same fate.
Rensselaerswyck alone escaped destruction, sheltered
by the friendly Mohawks. The despairing colonists,
stripped of their property and fearing for their lives,
threatened to quit the fort in a body and return to Hol-
land, and Kieft was compelled as a last resort to take
them all to serve as soldiers for two months in the pay
of the Company.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 115
Amid all the horrors of this savage warfare, an inci-
dent occurred which proved that the Indians did not for-
get past kindness in their thirst for vengeance. De
Vries had always been a firm friend of the Indians, and
had enjoyed their confidence, yet his plantation at Vries-
endael did not escape the general destruction. A party
of Indians made a descent upon the plantation, set fire
to the barns, and destroyed the crops and cattle. The
planters took refuge in the rudely fortified manor-house,
and were preparing to defend their lives to the last
extremity, when the Indian whose life De Vries had
saved on the night of the Pavonia massacre rushed to
the spot, and, telling the story, begged his countrymen
to spare the life of " the good chief." The effect was
magical. The grateful savages cried out to the planters
that they were sorry that they had killed the cattle, but
that they would let the brewery stand, though they
"longed for the copper kettle to make barbs for their
"arrows," and at once departed.
Kiefb began to repent bitterly of his rashness. He
dispatched a messenger with overtures of peace to the
Long Island Indians, which were rejected with scorn. A
fast was proclaimed throughout the colony. At this time,
Roger Williams visited Manhattan on his way to Europe.
** Before we weighed anchor," he writes, ** mine eyes
** saw the flames of their towns, the frights and hurries of
** men, women and children, and the present removal of
" all that could to Holland." Maddened by their misfor-
tunes, the excited colonists threw all the blame on Kieft,
and even talked of deposing him and sending him in
chains to Holland. To shield himself from their re-
116 HISTORY OF THE
proaches, the director endeavored to throw the odium
upon Adriaensen and his colleagues, as the instigators of
the Pavonia massacre. Enraged at this cowardice, Adri-
aensen, himself almost a ruined man by the destruction
of his property during the war, rushed into the presence
of the governor, armed with a pistol and hanger, and
attempted his life. He was quickly disarmed and sent
to prison, whence, despite the open resistance of his
friends, he was soon afterwards sent to Holland for
trial.
Meanwhile, the spring had come, and the Indians were
anxious for a cessation of hostilities that they might plant
their com for the coming season. On the 4th of March,
1643, three red men approached the fort, bearing a white
flag, but none but De Vries and Jacob Olfertsen dared
go forth to meet them. *' Come and speak to our chief
** on the sea-coast," said they. De Vries and his com-
panion fearlessly accompanied their savage guides, who
led them to Rockaway, where they found nearly three
hundred Indians assembled. They passed the night in
the wigwam of the chief.
At daybreak, the next morning, they were roused to
attend a council of the sachems. The Indians ranged
themselves in a circle, placing De Vries and his com-
panion in the middle, and their chosen orator of the tribe
arose with a bundle of sticks in his hand, and slowly ad-
dressed the strangers: '*When you first came to our
** coasts," said he, *'you had no food ; w€f gave you our
'' beans and corn, and relieved you with our oysters and
** fish ; and now, for recompense, you murder our peo-
** pie," and he laid down a stick as the first count of the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 117
indictment. ** In the beginning of your voyages, you
** left your people here with your goods ; we traded with
''them while your ships were away, and cherished them
** as the apple of your eye ; we gave them our daughters
** for companions, who have borne children ; and now you
** villainously massacre your own blood," and he laid
down another stick as the second count. Many more
still remained in his hand, but De Vries, not knowing
where the fearful catalogue would end, hastily inter-
rupting him, begged the sachems to go with him to Fort
Amsterdam, and conclude a peace with the director, to
which they consented, despite the remonstrances of their
tribes. ** Are you all crazy," said the warriors, indig-
nantly, ** to go to the fort where that scoundrel lives who
** has murdered your friends ?" But De Vries assuring
them of safety, they said, ** Upon your word, we will go,
" for you have never lied to us, like the rest of the
*' Swannekens." They went, and Kieft gladly con-
cluded a treaty with them, and sent them away, loaded
with presents, entreating their mediation with the river
Indians.
With some difficulty, a truce was soon after concluded
with these ; yet it was but a hollow truce. The natives
were still smarting beneath a sense of their wrongs ; they
grumbled at the insufficiency of their presents, and mut-
tered words of ominous meaning, while the whites were
distrustful of their terrible neighbors, and lived in con-
stant fear of midnight assault, so that the peace was even
more fearful than the war. '* Our people are con-
** tinually crying for vengeance ; we can pacify our
"young men no longer," said a friendly sachem sadly at
118 HISTORY OP THB
midsummer, as he warned De Vries in behalf of his
countrymen against venturing alone in the woods, lest
some stranger Indian might kill their favorite.
The words of the sachem were soon fulfilled. In
August, the war broke out anew. Several trading-boats
were attacked on the North River, nine men were killed,
and a woman and two children carried away into cap-
tivity. In this emergency, Kieft again summoned the
people together, 4ind eight men were chosen by the
popular voice to advise with the governor in respect to
the war. This second representative body consisted of
Jochem Pietersen Kuyter, Jan Jansen Damen, Barent
Dircksen, Abraham Pietersen, Isaac AUerton, Thomas
Hall, Gerrit Wolfertsen, and Cornells Melyn. Their first
act was to expel from the board Jan Jansen Damen, who
had been one of the prime instigators of the massacre
of Pavonia, and to appoint Jan Evertsen Bout in his
stead, after which they resolved to preserve peace with
the Long Island Indians, but to renew hostilities with the
river tribes.
Preparations were immediately made to carry on the
war with renewed energy. The colonists were mustered
and drilled, and to prevent the English colonists from
leaving the province, fifty were taken into the Company's
pay, the commonalty having agreed to meet one-third of
the expense. The command of this detachment was
intrusted to Captain John Underbill, who had lately
removed from New Amsterdam to Stamford.
The colony seemed, indeed, in a hopeless condition.
One after another of the outside settlements fell a prey
to the fury of the savages. The Weckquaesgeek Indians,
CITY OF NEW YORK. 110
joining in the strife, fell on the plantation of the cele-
brated Anne Hutchinson, at Annie's Hook, and murdered
her with her whole family, with the exception of one
grand-daughter, a child, whom they carried into captivity.
Proceeding thence, they laid waste the other plantations
in West Chester, killing, burning, and destroying all be-
fore them. At Gravesend, they attacked the settlement
of Lady Deborah Moody, who, having been expelled
from Salem as an Anabaptist, had established herself
there by Kieft's permission, with others of her persuasion.
The heroic woman, with her friends, made a brave de-
fence, and finally repulsed the savage invaders. Not
equally fortunate was the larger settlement of Doughty,
at Mespath, which was destroyed, while the colonists
were forced to flee for safety to Manhattan. The settle-
ments on New Jersey fell a prey to the Indians, and little
remained to the Dutch save the little colony at Manhattan.
Five or six farmhouses were still standing on the upper
part of the island, but these were hourly threatened with
destruction. The only place of safety was the fort, around
which the women and children huddled in straw huts,
while their husbands and fathers defended its walls. And
these defenders were but few ; all the men that could be
mustered were about two hundred, besides fifty or sixty
soldiers in garrison, and a handful of Englishmen; and with
these, it was necessary to keep a constant guard, and to re-
pel the attacks of seven tribes, numbering fifteen hundred
well-armed men. The cattle had been gathered into the
fort, where they were starving for want of food. De Vries,
the only white man in whom the Indians had confidence,
set sail for Holland, a ruined man, reproaching Kieft iu
120 HISTORY OF THE
his last words, with the ruin that had resulted from his
reckless cruelty.
In this extremity, the council of Eight Men invoked
the aid of the colonists at New Haven, but their request
was unheeded. The English professed to doubt the jus-
tice of the quarrel ; it may be, too, that they were well
satisfied that the Indians should do the work they wished
done, and exterminate the Dutch from the face of the
New World. Foiled in this quarter, the Eight Men
addressed an earnest appeal to the government at Hol-
land, and set about organizing a desperate defence.
Expeditions were dispatched against the Indian villages ;
their corn was destroyed, and their wigwams levelled to
the ground. But here, instead of simply acting on the
defensive, they darkened the story of the war with
another act of bloody cruelty.
In the begiiming of the year 1644, a colony of English
emigrants, headed by Robert Fordham, had settled at
Heemstede on Long Island, after securing a grant of
land from the Dutch government. Peiihawitz, the
sachem of the Canarsee tribe in the vicinity, had ever
shown himself a firm friend of the whites ; but in this
time of general distrust, the English suspected him of
treacherous designs, and conveyed information of their
suspicions to the governor at Fort Amsterdam. With-
out waiting to ascertain the truth of the charge, Kieft
at once dispatched a detachment of a hundred and
twenty men under the command of La Montague, Cook
and Underbill with orders to exterminate the Canarsees.
The party proceeded in three yachts to Qow Bay, where
they landed, and dividing their forces, marched upon
CITY OP NEW YORK. 121
the two Indian villages at Mespath and Heemstede. The
Indians, taken by surprise, fell an easy prey to their
enemies. One hundred and twenty were killed and two
taken prisoners, while of the assailants but one was
killed and three wounded. The prisoners were conveyed
in triumph to Fort Amsterdam, where they were put to
death with the most excruciating tortures. The one fell
dead in the fort while dancing the death dance beneath
the knives of his more than savage victors ; the other was
beheaded on a millstone in Beaver Lane, near the Battery;
Encouraged by this bloody success, the governor dis-
patched Uiiderhill with a hundred and fifty men on a
new expedition against the Connecticut Indians. He
landed at Greenwich, and, after marching all day in the
snow, arrived at midnight at the Indian village. This
consisted of three rows of wigwams, nestling in a nook
of the mountain which protected them from the north
winds. The night was clear, and the full moon, shining
on the snow, gave it all the brightness of a winter's day.
This time, the Indians were not sleeping, but were
merrily celebrating one of their annual festivals. In the
midst of their festivity, the Dutch surrounded the village,
and charged upon them, sword in hand. The Indians
made a desperate resistance, but in vain ; every attempt
to break the Une of their foes failed, and in an hour, the
snow was dyed with the blood of a hundred and eighty
of their number. Having forced all the Indians into the
wigwams. Underbill determined to terminate the battle
by setting fire to the village. Straw and wood were
quickly heaped about the houses, the pile was kindled,
and in a few moments, the whole village was in flames.
122 HISTORY OP THE
Men, women and children were shot down as they rushed
from the burning huts, or forced back again to perish
there. Between five and six hundred perished by fire
and sword, and but eight escaped to tell the fearful tale
to their countrymen. Not a single man of the assailants
was killed, though fifteen were wounded. The victors
kindled large fires and slept on the field of battle. The
next morning, they set out for Fort Amsterdam, which
they entered in triumph, three days after. They were
received with open arms, and a public thanksgiving was
proclaimed in gratitude for the victory. This battle is
supposed to have taken place on Strickland's Plain,
within three miles of G reenwich.
This victory practically terminated the war — a war
which began and ended in massacre, which very nearly
destroyed the youthful colony, and which was carried on
by the governor against the wishes of the people. In
April, 1644, the chiefs of the Long Island and several of
the river tribes, appeared at the fort and pledged them-
selves to peace. But the tribes nearest Manhattan
Island continued hostile until the following year, when
the Mohawks interposed in favor of the Dutch. On the
30th of August, 1645, the sachems of all the hostile
tribes assembled on the Bowling Green, and, smoking
the calumet of peace, pledged themselves to eternal
friendship with the whites. The 6th of September was
appointed as a day of general thanksgiving, and the war
was at an end.
And it was time. The war had lasted but two years,
yet the island was almost depopulated. Scarcely a hun-
dred men were left in Manhattan. The cattle and farms
CITY OF NEW YOEK. 123
were all destroyed, and the neighboring settlements
levelled to the ground. The fort, which had originally
been nothing more than a bank of earth with corners of
stone, was crumbling into ruins. The stone church
which had been commenced in 1642 remained unfinished,
the money that had been raised for the support of a
school had been expended for the troops, and the English
auxiliaries were yet unpaid. Other expenses, too, had
been incurred in providing for the safety of the city. In
the spring of 1644, a strong fence had been built through
Wall street, for the protection of the few cattle that yet
remained to the settlers ; and this fence, which was
afterwards extended and strengthened, continued to serve
as the wall of the city for the ensuing fifty years, and
gave its name to the street which stands now as the
monetary wall of the metropolis. The Company, crippled
by the expenses of their military operations in the
Brazils, were utterly powerless to render them any assis-
tance, and a bill which Kieft had drawn on them the
preceding summer for 2,622 guilders was returned pro-
tested. To meet this emergency, Kieft again convened
the assembly of the Bight Men, and proposed to levy an
excise on wine, beer, brandy and beaver. This was bit-
terly opposed by the representatives of the people, botii
on account of the impoverished state of the city, and
because it transcended his rights as a subordinate ofl&cer
of the Company. Their remonstrances were of no avail ;
the tax was imposed by the imyielding director.
Just at this juncture, a hundred and three Dutch sol-
diers who had been expelled from Brazil by the Portu-
guese insurrection, arrived at Manhattan. These had
124 HISTOEY OF THE
been sentby Petrus Stuyvesant, the governor of "Cura^oa,
to aid the colonists in the war with the Indians. On the
arrival of these troops, the English auxiliaries were
civilly dismissed, and the new comers were biUeted on
the citizens. But they were destitute of clothing, and to
meet this exigency, the director ordered that the excise
duties, which had been provisionally imposed, should be
continued. The brewers, upon whom this tax fell most
heavily, made a sturdy resistance. They were sum-
moned before the council, a judgment was rendered
against them, and their beer was given as a prize to the
soldiers.
Indignant at this bold violation of their rights, on the
28th of October, the council of the Eight Men addressed
a memorial to the Company, demanding the recall of
Blieft, whom they charged with the whole blame of the
war, and petitioning that the people might be allowed a
voice in the municipal government. This document re-
flected severely on Kieft, who had already sent to the
directors his own version of the war, together with a
book and drawings, descriptive of the province. This,
they quaintly assured the Company, had as many lies
as lines in it. '* And besides," they continued, ** in
" respect to the animals and geography of New Neth-
" erland, it would be well to inquire how the director-
" general can write so aptly about those distances and
" habits, since his honor, during the six or seven years
'* that he has been here, has constantly resided on the
"Manhattans, and has never been fiu'ther from his
" kitchen and his bedroom than the middle of the afore-
"said island." This memorial was referred to the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 125
Assembly of Nineteen, who at once determined upon
Kieft's recall. Being undecided as to a successor,
Lubbertus Van Dincklagen, the schout fiscal who had
been so unceremoniously dismissed eight years before by
Van Twiller, was appointed to take charge of the gov-
ernment provisionally. Before he had embarked, how-
ever, to repair to his new post, the Company made choice
of Petrus Stuyvesant, the ex-governor of Cura^oa, for
director-general. Van Dincklagen's appointment was
therefore revoked, and that of vice-director or first coun-
cillor of the province given him instead.
This done, new regulations were made for the govern-
ment of the province. Peace with the Indians was
strenuously insisted on, and Kieft and his council were
required to repair to Holland to defend their conduct in
the late war. The annual salary of the director was
fixed at three thousand, and the expense of the civil and
military estabHshment of the province at twenty thousand
guilders. The director, vice-director and schout were to
constitute the council, and to have supreme authority in
civil and military afiairs ; in criminal cases, in which
the schout was compelled to act as public prosecutor,
the military commandant took his place in the council,
and two representatives were added from the people.
Fort Amsterdam was immediately to be repaired with
*' good clay, and firm sods," and a permanent garrison of
fifty-three men to be maintained in it ; and the colonists
were counselled to provide themselves with weapons and
to form a provincial miUtia. The director was ordered to
use every effort to procure the planting and settlement
of the island of Manhattan, and to encourage the intrO'
126 HISTORY OF THE
duction of as many negroes as the colonists would pur-
chase at a fair price. All restrictions were removed from
trade, with the sole proviso that New Amsterdam should
remain the only port of entry.
But we have anticipated events in the course of our
history. The first act of Eaeft after the close of the In-
dian war was to purchase, in behalf of the Company, the
tract of land on Long Island now known as New Utrecht.
This purchase was made on the 10th of September, 1641.
The following month, Thomas Harrington, with several
other Englishmen, Anabaptist refugees from Massa-
chusetts, obtained a patent for sixteen thousand acres
of land, lying east of Mespath, and founded the settle-
ment of Flushing. Soon after, Eaeft gave to Lady
Moody, her son, and two English ofiScers, a patent
including the town of Gravesend, with the most hberal
civil and religious privileges, as a tribute of admiration
for her gallant defence against her savage assailants.
Not equally fortunate was Thomas Doughty, the Ana-
baptist minister and ex-proprietor of Mespath, whose
settlement had been destroyed during the Indian war.
A dispute having arisen between him and his associates,
the director and council decided the case against him and
took the control of the colony out of his hands ; and upon
his threatening to appeal to the court of Holland, fined
hiTn twenty-five guilders, and imprisoned him twenty-
four hours for contumacy. Soon after, Arnoldus Van
Hardenburg, a n^erchant of New Amsterdam, appealed
in the like manner from a decree of confiscation, and was
subjected to the same penalty. This refusal of the right
of appeal excited the indignation of the people, who
CITY OF NEW YORK. 127
murmured at the despotic conduct of the director, and
declared that ** under a king they could not be worse
'* treated." The rumor of his speedy recall reached the
colony, and emboldened them in their rebellion. Domine
Bogardus, whom Kieft had accused of drunkenness,
joined in the cry, and denounced him from the pulpit in
no measured terms. To this, Kieft retorted by absent-
ing himself from church, and ordering cannon to be fired
and drums to be beaten about the house during the
sermon-time to annoy the domine. Nothing daunted,
the intrepid clergyman continued his anathemas, and
Kieft at length arraigned him to appear before the court
within fourteen days to answer to a charge of sedition ;
but after considerable wrangling, the proceedings were
finally quashed by the interference of mutual friends.
On the 11th of May, 1647, these domestic dissensions
were ended by the arrival of Petrus Stuyvesant, the
newly appointed director. Vice-director Van Dinckla-
gen. Fiscal Van Dyck, and a number of officers, sol-
diers and colonists. The whole city turned out in arms
to meet him, firing salutes, and uttering shouts of joy,
mingled with deep execrations of the late director. ** I
shall govern you as a father does his children," answered
Stuyvesant, in return to this spontaneous welcome.
Petrus Stuyvesant, a native of Friesland, had formerly
been director of the Company's colony at Cura^oa,
whence, having lost a leg in an attack on the Portuguese
settlement at Saint Martin's, he had been obliged to
return to Europe for surgical aid. Having regained
his health, and replaced his leg by a wooden one with
silver bands, which gave rise to the tradition that he
128
HISTORY OF THE
Petras Stay vesant, the last of the Datch GoyemoTS.
wore a silver leg, he received the appointment of director-
general of the province of New Netherlands still retain-
ing his command of Curapoa and the adjacent islands.
He was brave and energetic, and the man of all others
best calculated to retrieve the fallen fortunes of the
colony. But he was also haughty, imperious, and impa-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 129
tient of contradiction, and his despotic love of power
soon weakened the affection with which the citizens
greeted him on his first arrivial. But, with all his faults,
he was the man for the times, and his firm and vigorous
rule contrasts well with the ill-judged and capricious
conduct of his predecessor. Though sworn by the duties
of his office to execute the commands of the West India
Company, he was at heart attached to the interests of
the people, with whom he identified himself after the
forced surrender of the city, by taking up his residence
among them as a private citizen, the ancestor of a long
hne of prominent men, which has reached down even
unto the present day.
Seal of Petras Stayresant.
Stuyvesant set vigorously to work to reform abuses.
His first act was to organize his council, which consisted
of Van Dincklagen, Van Dyck, Adriaen Keyser and Bryan
Newton, with La Montague as coimcillor and Van Tien-
hoven as secretary. Paulus Van der Grist was appointed
equipage-master, and George Baxter was retained as
English secretary. This done, he set about the work of
regulating the streets and improving the city. Van
9
130 HISTOET OF THE
Dincklagen, Van der Grist and Van Tienhoven were ap-
pointed fence-viewers to regulate the erection of new
buildings ; proprietors of vacant lots were directed to
improve them within nine months, and hog-pens and
out-houses were ordered to be removed from the high-
ways. The church still remained unfinished, and Stuy ve-
sant, who had become a member of the Consistory, took
the work of its completion into his own hands. Bogar-
dus resigned his charge in order to proceed to Holland
to answer the charges preferred against him by Van
Dmcklagen, and Johannes Backerus, the former clergy-
man of Curapoa, was appointed in his place at a salary
of fourteen hundred guilders per annum. Drunkenness
and profanity were strictly forbidden, no hquors were
permitted to be sold to the Indians, and strict laws
were passed for the protection of the revenue. The ob-
noxious duties upon beer, brandy and beaver were not
removed ; far from this, a new excise was levied upon
wines and other liquors, and the export duties upon pel-
tries were still further increased. This proceeding excited
some discontent among the people, who had looked to the
coming of the new director to remove this hateful duty.
Another cause of disaffection soon arose in the colony.
Kuyter and Melyn, the leading members of the council
of Eight Men, petitioned that the administration of Kieft
during the period of the Indian war might be made the
subject of inquiry. The petition was rejected by the
director, who saw in it a dangerous precedent for the
assumption of power by the people ; and the petitioners
were ordered in turn to be examined as to the origin of
the Indian war, and to state whether their demand had
CITY OP NEW YORK. 131
been authorized by the government or the commonalty ;
as, otherwise, they must return to Holland with Kieft, to
substantiate their complaints before the States General.
Emboldened by this decision, Kieft accused them of be-
ing the authors of a calumnious memorial to the Assem-
bly of Nineteen, and, on this ground, demanded their
banishment. The accusation was accepted, and an in-
dictment preferred, charging Melyn and Kuyter with
having fraudulently procured the signatures of the Eight
Men to the calumnious memorial of the 28th of October,
1644, unauthorized by the commonalty. In addition to
this, Melyn was accused of rebelUous conduct, while
Kuyter was charged with urging the mortgage of Man-
hattan to the English, and threatening Kieft with per-
sonal violence.
Both Melyn and Kuyter defended themselves vigor-
ously against these accusations. They declared that the
memorial had been written by the authority of the Eight
Men, and in the name of the commonalty ; that the
charges in it could be fully substantiated ; and that the
destruction of fifty or sixty bouweries and the murder oi
numerous colonists furnished ample cause for its trans-
mission. Melyn confessed that he had proposed that the
island of Manhattan should be pledged to the English as
a measure of necessity. But their defence availed them
little ; Stuyvesant and his council, fearing the encroach-
ments of the people, espoused the cause of Kieft, and
Melyn was sentenced to seven years' banishment, and to
pay a fine of three hundred and fifty guilders ; while
Kuyter was sentenced to three years' banishment, and to
pay a fine of one hundred and fifty guilders ; one-third
132 HISTORY OF THE
of the money to be given to the poor, one-third to the
church, and one-third to the fiscal. The heavier punish-
ment of Melyn was imputed by many to a private
revenge on the part of Kieft, with whom the former
had refused to share his grant on Staten Island.
Both Kuyter and Melyn were placed as criminals on
board the ship Princess, then ready to return to Holland.
Kieft accompanied his victims with his ill-got fortune j
and Domine Bogardus and Van der Huyghens, the late
schout fiscal, were also of the company. But the ill-
fated vessel struck on a rock on the coast of Wales, and
went to the bottom, carrying with her Kieft, Bogardus,
a son of Melyn, and eighty Others. But twenty were
saved ; among whom were Kuyter and Melyn. The rich
cargo of furs, valued at a hundred thousand dollars, waa
irretrievably lost. The news of the tragical end of the
director excited but little sympathy at New Amsterdam,
while the New England settlers affected to regard it as a
special mark of the wrath of God against their enemies.
The sentence against Kuyter and Melyn was afterwards
reversed by the Company, and they returned with honor
to New Amsterdam.
To complete the proposed improvements, money was
necessary. But the treasury was empty, the taxes came
in slowly, and the colonists murmured grievously at
being taxed without their consent. Embarrassed by the
difficulties of his position, Stuyvesant at length consented
to concede a representation, and in August, 1647, called
an election at which the inhabitants of Manhattan,
Breuckelen, New Amersfoordt and Pavonia chose eighteen
men, from whom nine were selected by the director and
CITY OF NEW YORK. 1,33
council to advise with them in matters relating to the wel-
fare of the province. This new house of representatives
consisted of Augustine Heermans, Arnoldus Van Harden-
burg, Govert Loockermans, Jan Jansen Damen, Jacob
Wolfertsen Van Couwenhoven, Hendrick Hendricksen
Kip, Michael Jansen, Jan Evertsen Bout, and Thomas
Hall ; three of whom were to have seats in the council
in turn on the usual weekly court day, and to act as
arbitrators in civil cases. Six of the board were to be
succeeded annually by six others, elected by the director
and council from among twelve chosen by the people at
the election on the last day of December.
The Nine Men at once commenced their dehberations
in respect to the proposed repairs of the fort and city.
Stuyvesant. offered on the part of the Company to defray
a part of the expense of a school, and to furnish one of
the government houses for its temporary accommodation,
but insisted that the people should repair the fort for
their own security. This, the Nine Men refused, as the
Company had bound itself by its charter to keep the
fort in a posture of defence. They offered, however, to
repair the church and to reorganize the school without
delay, and after some hesitation this proposition was
acceded to, and the repairs commenced forthwith.
In 1648, Adriaen Keyser, Thomas Hall, Martin Krigier
and George Woolsey, were appointed fire wardens to in-
spect the houses in the city. The owners of aU chim-
neys, condemned by them as foul, were to pay a fine of
three guilders. If a house should be burned by the
owner's carelessness, he was to pay a fine of twenty-five
guilders. These fines were to be appropriated to the
134 HISTOEY OF THE
purchase of ladders, hooks and buckets, to be deposited
at diflferent places throughout the city. The public wells
were in the middle of the streets, and the water was
passed from them in buckets through long rows o£
citizens to the scene of the fire. It was not until
several years after, however, that these buckets were
actually provided. Every Monday was fixed as a
market-day, and an annual fair for ten days, com-
mencing on the Monday after St. Bartholomew's Day,
was established. Various laws for the regulation of
trade and immigration were enacted, and new ordi-
nances were passed, forbidding the sale of fire-arms and
ammunition to the Indians. So earnest were the council
in this latter prohibition, that Jacob Reintsen, with Jacob
Schermerhorn and his brother, being convicted soon after
of violating it, were sentenced to death ; a sentence
which was afterwards commuted, through the intercession
of their friends, to the confiscation of their goods. In
1649, an order was established for the regulation of
weights and measures, the Amsterdam standard being
adopted. The same year, a dispute arising between
Domine Backerus and the director, the domine obtained
permission to return to Holland ; and Domine Megapo-
lensis, the ex-minister of Rensselaerswyck, was installed
as his successor. The following year, Dirck Van
Schelluyne, the first lawyer, commenced practice in the
city.
In the meantime, outside difficulties had been pressing
heavily upon the director. The dispute between the
Dutch and English, in respect to the territory of the
Fresh River, together with Long Island, was still pend-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 135
ing, and as a last resort, Stuyvesant repaired in person
to the scene of the contest. After a long negotiation, it
was finally decided to submit the case to two delegates
from each side, to be subject to their decision. These
arbitrators assigned to New England, all the eastern por-
tion of Long Island, comprising the present SuflFolk
County. On the mainland, the boundary was to begin
at the west side of Greenwich Bay, to run northerly
twenty miles into the country, but in no case to approach
within ten miles of the Mauritius River. The Dutch
were left in possession of their territory at Fort Good
Hope, and no disposition was made in respect to South
River.
The people were dissatisfied with an arrangement
which ceded so large a portion of their territory to their
enemies, and loudly accused the director of injustice.
Both the arbitrators appointed by him had been
Englishmen ; and this displeased the colonists, who
claimed that their wishes had not been represented in
the treaty, and complained to the Company that the
director had surrendered territory enough to form fifty
colonies, and had taken Englishmen into his confidence
instead of his legal counsellors. They also petitioned for
a mimicipal government, like that of the independent
cities of the Fatherland. This had been granted to
Breuckelen some time before. On the 26th of Novem-
ber, 1646, a charter had been conferred upon the little
village, then situate nearly a mile distant from the wa-
ter's edge, granting to the inhabitants the right of elect-
ing two schepens, or magistrates, with full judicial
powers. These were subordinate to a schout, who was
186 HISTORY OP THE
in turn, subordinate to the schout fiscal of Manhattan,
These liberal privileges naturally excited the envy of their
brethren across the river, who claimed similar rights for
themselves. On the 4th of April, 1652, their petition
was granted by the Company, and a "burgher govern-
ment" established at Manhattan. This consisted of a
schout, to be appointed by the Company, and two
burgomasters and five schepens, to be elected by the
people ; who were to form a municipal Court of Jus-
tice, subject to the right of appeal to the Supreme Court
of the province. At the same time, the States General
ordered Stuyvesant to repair at once to Holland, to give
an account of his administration ; but, yielding to the
remonstrances of the Amsterdam chamber, were at
length persuaded to revoke their recall. Bomine Dris-
sius was appointed as assistant to Megapolensis, and La
Montague took charge of the school.
The city thus received its first incorporation. Cornells
Van Tienhoven was elected schout ; Arent Van Hatten
and Martin Krigier, burgomasters ; and Paulus Van der
Grist, Maximilian Van Gheel, AUard Anthony, Wilhelm
Beekman* and Pieter Van Couwenhoven, schepens.
The stone tavern at Coenties' Slip was converted into a
'' stadt buys " or city-hall ; and the magistrates held
their court there every Monday morning, beginning at
nine and closing at twelve.
In the autumn of 1652, the settlements of Middleburgh
and Midwout, now Newtown and Flatbush, were founded
under patents from Stuyvesant. In thoi same year, a war
* See Appendix, Note IX
CITY OP NEW YORK. 137
broke out between England and Holland, and the citi-
zens, fearing an attack from their New England neigh-
bors, set to work to fortify the city. The fence that had
been erected along the line of Wall street during the late
war for the protection of the cattle, was converted into
a ditch and palisades with a breast-work, and extended
from river to river. The fort was also strengthened, and
the whole body of citizens were ordered to mount guard
every night. Grateful for the concessions which had just
been made them, the citizens promptly raised the six
thousand guilders which were needed for the completion
of the fortifications, and set to work themselves, pigk and*
shovel in hand, to dig the trenches and erect the palisades.
During the whole summer, the citizens remained under
arms, expecting an attack ; nor were their fears un-
founded. The settlers of New England took advantage
of this opportunity to break the late treaty, and to en-
deavor to furthel* their plans for the ultimate conquest of
New Netherland. Their first step was to accuse Stuy ve-
sant of Having plotted with the Narragansett Indians for
the destruction of the English. The sachems themselves
denied all knowledge of such a plot, and Stuyvesant
indignantly demanded an investigation of the matter.
Three delegates were accordingly appointed to visit New
Amsterdam, and receive depositions; but little was accom-
plished by this negotiation, and the delegates returned to
Boston with small proof of the accusation. On Long
Island, Captain Underbill, turning against his late allies,
endeavored to stir up the colonists to revolt, but without
eflFect. The commissioners of the United Colonies, who
still professed to believe in the reality of the plot, urged
138 HISTORY OF THE
immediate hostilities against the Dutch, but the General
Court of Massachusetts refused to take part in the war,
and thus prevented the accomplishment of the design.
Eager for the conquest of the Dutch province, the other
colonies persisted in their purpose, and by their repre-
sentations, induced Cromwell to send an expedition
against New Amsterdam. Before it arrived, peace was
proclaimed between England and Holland. The news
was received with joy in the city ; bells were rung and
cannon fired, and the 12th of July, 1654, was set
apart as a day of general thanksgiving.
In the meantime, a continual contest had been going
on between the people and the director, and to replenish
his exhausted treasury, the latter had been compelled to
surrender to the city the obnoxious excise on beer and
liquors. But this failed to satisfy the burgomasters
and schepens, who, on the 24th of December, 1653, ad-
dressed a letter to the Company, entreating that New
Amsterdam might enjoy equal municipal privileges with
her namesake in Holland. They demanded that the
schout should be chosen by the people, instead of being,
as heretofore, the Company's fiscal ; and that as the city
was compelled to defray its own expenses, the excise
should go into the city treasury, and power should be
conferred upon the municipal authorities to levy taxes,
and to lease the ferry between Long Island and New
Amsterdam. They also demanded that the city should
have a seal and a stadt buys of its own, and should have
full authority to sell and convey lands, and to regulate its
local affairs ; and that fixed salaries should be granted
to the magistrates. In the spring of 1654, a portion of
CITY OP NEW YORK. 139
their demands was reluctantly granted. The oflBce of
schout was separated from that of the Company's fiscal ;
but the directors still retained the power of appointment
in their own hands. The municipal authorities were
granted the use of the stadt huys, which had hitherto been
wholly under the control of the provincial government;
they were permitted to pay the public salaries out of the
excise, and to levy taxes with the consent of the com-
monalty and the provincial government ; and to sell and
convey lands within the limits of the city. No one was
permitted to ferry across the river without a license from
the magistrates. The ferryman was required to keep
proper servants and boats, and a house on both sides the
river for the accommodation of passengers, and to pass
all officials free of toll. On the- other hand, he was not
compelled to ferry anything without prepayment, or to
cross the river in a tempest. On the 10th of October of
the same year, an ordinance was passed by the city au-
thorities, regulating the rates of ferriage at three stuy-
vers each for foot passengers, except Indians, who paid
six each, unless there were two or more. On the 19th of
March, 1658, the ferry was put up at auction, and leased
to Hermanns Van Bossom for three years, at three hun-
dred guilders a year. The annual salary of the burgo-
masters was fixed at three hundred and fifty, and that of
the schepens at two hundred and fifty guilders. A seal*
* This seal is thus described by K B. 0. Callaghan, Esq., to whom we are indebted
for this information : — " Argent per pale ; three crosses saltire ; Orettf a Bearer
proper, surmounted by a mantle, on which is a shield or, bearing the letters O.W.G.
(Oeeoctroyerde West Indische Compagnie). Under the base of the arms are the
words, SioiLLUM Amstellodamknsis in Koto Beluio : — the Seal of Amsterdam in
Kew Nctherlond. The whole is encircled with a wreath of laurel*^ — See cti< <m p. 62.
140
HISTORY OF THE
Seal of New Xetherland, 1623-1664.— (7^t» teal U referred to an pagt 62.)
was also granted to the city, which was received and
publicly delivered on the 8th of the next December by
the Director to Martin Krigier, the presiding burgomas-
ter. Jochem Pietersen Kuyter was appointed schout
by the Company, as many supposed, to make amends
for the harsh usage he had formerly received from the
hands of their officer. But he was murdered by the In-
dians before the arrival of his commission, and Fiscal
CITY OP NEW YORK. 141
Van Tienhoven was continued in the office by Stuyve-
sant, despite the discontent of the burghers.
Much dissatisfaction also prevailed in the settlements
on Long Island, and on the 10th of December, 1653, a
Landttag or Diet, composed of delegates from Xew
Amsterdam, Breuckelen, Midwout, Middleburgh, Heem-
stede, Amersfoordt, Flushing and Gravesend assem-
bled in the city. These delegates addressed a remon-
strance to the governor, complaining of the arbitrary
enactment of laws and appointment of officers, and the
partial distribution of lands ; and demanding for the peo-
ple a direct share in the government. This proceed-
ing deeply offended the director, who regarded it as an
encroachment upon his prerogative, and he angrily dis-
solved the assembly. Upon this, the delegates protested
to the Company ; and the English settlers, who were noto-
riously disaffected, and were even suspected of conspiring
with the freebooters who infested the shores, grew so
tiirbulent, that, to counteract their influence, Stuyvesant
determined to increase the power of the Dutch villages by
giving them the privileges they desired. Breuckelen had
two schepens already ; two more were now added, and
David Provoost was appointed her first separate schout.
Midwout and Amersfoordt also received a municipal
government. The Company, on their part, treated the
protest with scorn, and ordered Stuyvesant to crush all
such insolent pretensions.
Hitherto, the minister at New Amsterdam had also
officiated occasionally on Long Island. But, as the
settlements increased, the colonists demanded a settled
minister, and, in 1654, the first church on Long Island
142 HISTORY OF THE
was built at Midwout or Flatbush, and Domine Johannes
Polhemus, who had just arrived from Brazil, was installed
at a salary of six hundred guilders. In this church, he
preached every Sunday morning, preaching m the after-
noons alternately at Breuckelen and Amersfoordt, until
1660, when Domine Henry Selyns was installed as minis-
ter of the church at the former place. At the same
time of the erection of the church at Midwout, the
Lutherans determined to build a church at New Amster-
dam. But Stuyvesant, who was a zealous Calvinist,
refused them permission, and the Company, influenced by
the representations of the Classis and the clergy of the
Reformed Dutch Church, supported him in the refusal, on
the ground that so dangerous a precedent would soon be
followed by the other dissenting sects, and thus destroy
the established religion of the province. This was the first
manifestation of religious bigotry in New Netherland.
At this juncture, trouble broke out in a new quarter.
In 1650, Stuyvesant had built Fort Casimir near the
mouth of the Brandywine River, about five miles dis-
tant from the Swedish fort Christina, for the purpose of
protecting the Dutch commerce from the encroachments
of the Swedes. This territory, the Swedes claimed as
their own, and in 1654, Rising, their governor, took
possession of the fort, disarmed the garrison, and changed
its name from Casimir to Trinity — the capture having been
made on Trinity Sunday. Indignant at this outrage, Stuy-
vesant seized the Golden Shark, a Swedish ship which
had entered Sandy Hook Bay by mistake, took posses-
sion of her cargo, and brought the factor a prisoner to
Fort Amsterdam ; then invited the Swedish gover-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 143
nor to visit him at Manhattan to adjust diflferences,
promising him courteous treatment and a safe return.
This invitation was peremptorily refused by the Swede,
upon which Stuyvesant dispatched an account of the
affair to his superiors, and demanded instructions as to
further proceedings. The Swedish rule was now broken
in Em-ope, and the government, having no longer any
reason for temporizing, at once directed the governor
not only to avenge the insult, but to drive the Swedes
from every part of the river. The conmiand accorded
well with the warlike spirit of Stuyvesant. All the
military force of the colony was at once mustered for
the enterprise, and on the 5th of September, 1655, he
sailed with seven vessels and one hundred and sixty men
to attack the Swedish colony at Fort Christina. The
enterprise was successful; and the forts were forced to
surrender. The Swedes were compelled either to evacu-
ate the country or to swear allegiance to the Dutch gov-
ernment ; Rising was sent to Europe, and a Dutch com-
mandant was placed in charge of the conquered territory.
The Indians had always been friendly under the paci-
fic rule of Stuyvesant. In the ten years that had rolled
away since the Indian war, their former hostility had
almost been forgotten, and when Stuyvesant sailed for
New Sweden, leaving the settlement defenceless, no one
thought of danger from the natives. But, a short time
before, the ex-fiscal, Hendrick Van Dyck, had shot a
squaw whom he had detected in stealing peaches from
his orchard, just below Rector street ; and the murder
had not been forgotten by her tribe, who now seized the
opportunity to wreak their vengeance on the unprotected
144 HISTORY OF THE
settlers. On the 15th of September, sixty-four canoes,
containing nearly two thousand armed warriors, landed
before daybreak at Fort Amsterdam, and spread them-
selves over the town, telling the startled burghers that
they came in search of some Indians from the north,
who had secreted themselves there. The pretext did
not deceive the citizens, but by friendly words and pro-
mises, they succeeded in keeping their savage visitors
quiet, and finally persuaded them to leave the town at
sunset and cross over to Governor's Island. They
returned in the evening, and shot Van Dyck, the offender,
in the breast with an arrow. Van der Grist was also
struck down with an axe. The people were roused to a
desperate defence, and hastily rallying together, they
assaulted the savages, and drove them to their canoes.
It was only to change the scene of destruction. Crossing
the North River, they recommenced their bloody work
at Hoboken and Pavonia, slaughtering men, women and
children without mercy, and bxuning the houses, bams
and crops. Thence, they crossed over to Staten Island,
which they quickly laid waste. In three days, one hun-
dred of the settlers were killed, and one hundred and
fifty taken prisoners. Twenty-eight bouweries with
their cattle and crops were destroyed ; and the losses of
of colonists were computed at two hundred thousands
guilders.
The whole coimtry was aroused. From all sides, the
terrified farmers flocked to the fort for safety. The
settlements on Long Island were threatened with des-
truction, and bands of Indians prowled over the island,
capturing or killing every colonist that chanced to fall in
CITY OP NEW YORK. 145
their way. An express was at once dispatched to the
director, who quickly returned to the terror-struck city.
But his policy diflFered widely from that of the head-
strong Kieft. While he used every precaution to protect
the colonists from the attacks of their enemies, he strove
to conciliate the latter by kind words and presents, in-
stead of incensing them still further by new provocations.
In this, he was successful. The Indians, terrified by his
preparations and pacified by his gifts, soon consented to
release their prisoners and to treat for peace.
Peace having thus been made with both Indian and
European foes, the colony began thenceforth steadily to
prosper. In 1656, the first map of the city, containing
seventeen streets, was drawn ; and two years after,
stone pavements were first laid down in Stone street.
At this time, the average price of the best lots was fifty
doUars. A census was taken, which enumerated a hun-
dred and twenty houses, and one thousand inhabitants
in the city of New Amsterdam. In the same year (1656)
a stand for country wagons was established at the foot
of Whitehall street. Provision was made to secure the
shores of the East River firom the washing of the tide
by lining them with planks ; and the wharf, which was
on the Une of Moore street, extending but little beyond
the low water mark, was improved by an extension of
fifty feet.
In the following year, an important distinction was
created among the citizens by the introduction of the
system of great and small burgher-rights, then in vogue
in Amsterdam. This change sprung directly from the
citizens themselves. For many years, peddlers had been
10
146 HISTORY OF THE
in the habit of bringing their goods into the province and
disposing of them ; then returning to Europe with the
avails of their adventure. The merchants, disliking that
their trade should thus be drawn ofiF by those who bore
no part of the burdens of the colony, entreated that no
persons but city burghers should be allowed to carry on
business in the metropolis, and none but settled resi-
dents to trade in the interior. To meet their demands,
in 1657, Stuyvesant and his council required that before
selling their goods, all traders should open a store within
the Umits of the city, and pay to the municipal authori-
ties the sum of twenty guilders. This entitled them to
the small burgher-right ; to which, likewise, all were
entitled who were natives, or who had resided a year
and six weeks in the city ; who should marry the daugh-
ters of burghers ; and all salaried officers of the Company.
By paying the sum of fifty guilders, they entered the class
of great burghers, which included all the provincial and
mimicipal authorities, both present and future, together
with their male descendants. All city officials were
required to be chosen from the latter class, who were
likewise exempt for one year from watch and military
service, and free from arrest from the inferior courts.
From this sprung the kindred institution under the Eng-
lish government of the freedom of the city.
In 1658, two hundred and fifty fire-buckets with
hooks and ladders, were imported from Holland for the
use of the city, and a rattle watch, consisting of eight
men, was organized. All thatched roofs and wooden
chimneys were ordered to be removed, and the best lots
were taxed until built upon. At this time, the average
\
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. .147
rent of the best houses was about fourteen dollars a year.
A market-house, the first m the city, was erected for the
sale of meat at the Bowling Green. The only school in
the city had always been irregularly sustained, owing to
the want of funds and a suitable school-house. Jacob
Van Corlaer attempted to remedy the deficiency by
opening a private school, but this was quickly inter-
dicted by Stuyvesant, on the ground that he had received
no permission from the provincial authorities. But many
of the burghers were anxious to give their children a
classical education, and as it was impossible to obtain
this nearer than Boston, they wrote to the Company to
send them a Latin teacher, promising to build a school-
house at their own cost. As a further inducement, they
urged that the inhabitants of the neighboring towns
would Ukewise send their children, and that *'New
Amsterdam might finally thus attain to an academy, the
credit of which would redound to the honor of the Com-
pany." This argument proved convincing, and the next
year, Doctor Alexander Carolus Curtius was sent to
them at a salary of five hundred guilders and perqui-
sites. Curtius soon established a flourishing Latin school
in the city, where he also practised as a physician. He
returned to Holland two years after, and was succeeded
by Domine iEgidius Luyck, the private tutor of the fam-
ily of the director.
At this time, but a small part of the island was under
cultivation. The greater part of it lay waste and com-
mon. The lots below Wall street were large enough for
garden-plots and orchards. Every settler kept his cows,
and a herdsman was appointed by the city to drive them
148 HISTORY OF THE
to the public pasture — the present Park and the land in
its vicinity. Every morning, this functionary passed
through the streets of the city, blowing a horn to warn
the inhabitants of his approach. Collecting the cows
that were turned out at the gates in a common herd, he
drove them through the city gates at Wall street ; then,
guiding them along the crooked Pearl street, he turned
them into the inclosure, and drove them back at night to
their owners. As the city increased, the inhabitants
built along the beaten track, which came to bear the
name of " the Cow Path."
The village was now growing into a city, and the
inhabitants began to feel the need of a good road for
pleasure riding. The upper part of the island was still
wild and rocky, and the governor resolved to found a
village there, to be called New Harlaem, and to open a
good road thither from New Amsterdam. To encourage
a speedy settlement, he ofiFered to give the villagers a
ferry to Long Island, with a court and clergyman of
their own, as soon as they numbered twenty-five families ;
but few were willing to live so far in the country, and
two years passed before the village was large enough
to profit by his offer. In 1660, an inferior court was
organized, and the village thus received a partial incor-
poration. In the same year, a second survey was made
of the city, which was found to contain three hundred
and fifty houses.
From this time the colony flourished. The wise policy
of the Company induced them to use every effort to
encourage emigration, and thus to increase their strength
and prosperity. The strife between the people and the
i
CITY OF NEW YORK. 149
governor was the principal drawback to the prosperity
of the colony. The West India Company wished to
rule supreme over the settlement which they had founded,
and which they regarded as their own pecuUar property,
and Stuyvesant, their representative, was not the man to
bate one jot of their pretensions. The people, on the
other hand, were of the freest nation in Europe, they
had lost none of their native independence in this new
clime, and they demanded the right to choose their own
rulers ; a demand which, step by step, they obtained. In
1660, the Company yielded the last point, and permitted
them to have a schout of their own, appointed to the
office by the Amsterdam chamber. Pieter Tonneman
filled the office. Less religious toleration prevailed now
than formerly. Stuyvesant, a fanatical Calvinist, de-
tested all dissenters, and persecuted the Quakers for a
time with rigor ; but he was soon checked in this intol-
erance by the commands of the Company, who, while
they wished to estabUsh the Reformed Dutch religion
in the province, were anxious at the same time to pi:e-
serve the spirit of religious freedom which character-
ized the Fatherland.
In 1661, the Company bought Staten Island from Melyn
and Van de Capellen, its former owners, and made grants
of land thereon to various colonists: and a small settle-
ment warf founded a few miles south of the Narrows, by
several families of French Huguenots. In the same year,
Jacques Cortelyou founded the settlement of New
Utrecht, to which, a few months afterwards, Stuyvesant
granted a village charter, as also to the village of Boswyck
or Bush wick, which had been settled the year before.
160 HISTOBTOFTHE
Boswyck, New Utrecht, Breuckelen, Amersfoordt and
Midwout were placed under the jurisdiction of a single
schout, each having separate schepens of its own, and
were known henceforth as the ** Five Dutch Towns.^'
But danger was menacing the province from without.
The English, who laid claim to the whole continent as
having been discovered by Cabot, were slowly but surely
extending their rule, while, surroimded on all sides by
their colonies, and under the protection of a private
trading company instead of a powerful government, New
Netherland was ill prepared to defend her rights. The
EngUsh had long looked with a covetous eye upon the
rich possessions of their Dutch neighbors ; the time had
now come to attempt their conquest. Despite the threats
and protests of Stuyvesant, the Dutch colonies in Dela-
ware and Westchester and on Long Island successively
fell into their hands, and he saw that they would be
content with nothing less than the whole of New Nether-
land. It was not long before affairs reached the crisis
In 1664, Charles II. granted to his brother, James, Duke
of York and Albany, a patent of the territory lying
between Connecticut River and Delaware Bay, including
the whole of the Dutch possessions in America, together
with a part of the same territory in Connecticut which
had been previously granted by him to Governor Win-
throp.
Upon receiving the patent, and without giving any
notice to the government of Holland, the Duke of York
immediately dispatched four ships with four hundred and
fifty soldiers, under the command of Colonel Richard
Nicolls, his deputy governor, to take possession of his
\
CITY OP NEW YORK. 151
newly acquired territory. Sir Robert Carr, Colonel
George Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick accompanied
the expedition as commissioners to visit the New England
colonies. The squadron separated on the coast in a fog,
the ship with the deputy governor on board put in at
Boston, and the others anchored at Piscataway. Having
procured supplies, they proceeded on their way, and
anchored in Nyack Bay, between New Utrecht and
Coney Island, in the month of August, 1664 ; then
immediately took possession of the block-house on Staten
Island, and intercepted all communication between Man-
hattan and the neighboring shores.
On hearing of the intended invasion, the citizens had
hastily fortified the city, and increased the military force
as much as they were able. But they were ill-prepared
to stand a siege. Not more than four hundred men were
able to bear arms, and for these there were but six hundred
pounds of powder. The fort and the wall of palisades
which had defended them so well against the Indians,
would avail them nothing before their civilized foes.
They were exposed on both rivers, and there was no
hope that they could possibly resist an assault. Besides,
a large proportion of the inhabitants were English-
men, who were secretly longing for the triumph of their
countrymen ; while the Dutch themselves, wearied with
the arbitrary exactions of the Company, fancied that
good might result from a change of masters. The brave
old Stuyvesant would wilUngly have rallied his people
and stood a siege ; but his efforts were in vain, the time
had come for the fall of New Amsterdam.
On the morning after the arrival of the squadron,
i
152 HISTORY OF THE
\
Nicolls sent a summons to the city to surrender, prouh
ising the inhabitants protection of life, liberty and pro-
perty. Hastily convening the council and city authorities,
Stuyvesant informed them of the summons, but refused
to let the people know of the proffered terms, lest they
might force him to yield the city. This the burgo-
masters sharply opposed, and after an aniniated debate,
the director was forced to accede to their wishes.
While they were thus debating the surrender, NicoUs
sent another letter to Winthrop, the aged governor of
Connecticut, who had joined the squadron, begging him
to assure Stujrvesant that the privileges of the Hollanders
should in no wise be restrained, but that they should
continue to have full liberty to settle at Manhattan and
to go and return thither in ships of their own country.
Winthrop at once visited the city under a flag of truce,
and delivered the letter to the governor, who vainly
endeavored to withhold it from the people. The burgo-
masters insisted that it should be publicly read, when
Stuyvesant, incensed beyond all expression, tore it in
pieces before their eyes. The news was soon carried to
the citizens at the palisades, who, abandoning their work,
rushed to the stadt-huys, crying, " the letter ! the letter V
Resistance was in vain, and a copy was made from the
carefully collected fragments and given to the people.
In answer to the summons to surrender, Stuyvesant
returned a long defence of the Company's right to the
province ; while he secretly sent his last dispatch under
cover of night to Holland.
Irritated at this long delay, Nicolls landed the soldiers
from two of his ships at Breuckelen to storm the city by
CITY OP NEW YORK.
153
land. The others sailed up the bay, and anchored in
front of Fort Amsterdam. With the muzzles of their
loaded cannon pointed at the ships, the soldiers of Stuy-
vesant awaited the command to fire. It would have been
tiie signal for the destruction of the city. Men, women,
and children flocked around the director, beseeching him
to desist and to surrender. ** I would rather be carried
"out dead," was his reply. But he was at length
Old StaTTesant Pear-tree (now standiDg.)
154
HISTORY OF THE
obliged to yield. The people refused to obey his summons,
the principal citizens, including his own son, implored
him to submit, and at last the brave old Stuy vesant sadly
consented to deUver up the fort, on condition that it
should be returned again in case the difference of the
boundaries should be settled by England and Holland.
Ou the morning of the 8th of September, 1664,
Stuyyesaut marched his soldiers out of Fort Amsterdam
with all the honors of war. At the same time, the Eng-
lish troops marched in triumph into the city, and run up
the English flag upon the fort, which they christened at
once by the name of Fort James. Nicolls was pro-
claimed as deputy governor, and the city of New Amster-
dam was transformed into New York.
Stuyvesant remained a resident of his beloved city,
where he died and was buried in the famUy vault within
the walls of the church which he had built at his own
expense upon his extensive farm. The church is now
gone, and its place is occupied by the church of St.
Mark, In the outside wall of the latter, may be seen
the original tablet with the following inscription :
/
In this THuIt lies buried
PETRUS STUYVESANT
Late CaptuLE] GeuemI and CommaDder-in-Chief of Ainster^l
ill XewT Xoiliorland now called New York
I liQd ih.^ Duich West India Islands, died in August a i> HWi
^1 aged 80 years.
,i
f
CITY OF NEW YORK. 155
Just without the graveyard inclosure, on the corner
of Thirteenth street and Third Avenue stands a fine old
pear-tree, which still bears fruit, and which was brought
from Holland and planted there by Stuyvesant's own
hands. Nearly two hundred years have shice rolled by^
the English rule, in turn, has passed away, and a new
republic has risen from its ashes. Dimmer, day by day,
grows the memory of the past, the old landmarks of the
Knickerbockers have, one by one, crumbled into dust,
their language, manners and customs, have all passed
away, and naught remains to us of New Amsterdam and
ftll its memorials save this single vestige of tlie Dutch
dynasty and the brave old director, Petrus Stiiyvesant,
See Appendix Note £.
CHAPTER IV.
1664—1674.
New Yoric under the English GoTemment— Recapture of the ProTince by the Dutch,
and sabseqnent Betroceadon.
The English having thus succeeded in their long-cherished
project of expelling the Dutch from their American pos-
sessions, Colonel NicoUs took possession of the conquered
province as deputy-governor in behalf of the Duke of
York. The people, in fact, cared little for the change.
They had been oppressed by the Dutch governors ; taxes
had been levied on them without their consent ; they
had been denied that direct share in the government
which they claimed as their right, in conformity with
the municipal institutions of the Fatherland ; and the
few privileges which they enjoyed had been wrung with
difficulty from their despotic rulers. Yet the Dutch
government was at this time the most liberal of any ;
but the province had been abandoned to the tender
mercies of a selfish trading company, instead of being
fostered by the protecting care of the States General.
Besides, the English element now mingled largely in the
city. The settlers who had come from New England
and Virginia, retaining their predilection for their native
U6
CITY OP NEW YORK. 157
institutions, rejoiced in the change ; and the Dutch
themselves were not greatly afiFected by it. Their trade
with Holland was not interrupted ; they were still
allowed to choose their inferior officers and to preserve
their customs of inheritance ; their liberty of conscience
was respected, and they were exempted from all danger
of impressment, either for the army or the navy. The
most oppressive grievance of which they had to complain
was a law declaring all titles of land granted by the
Dutch government to be invalid, and exacting large fees
for their renewal.
The governor made it his policy to conciliate his new
subjects, and it was not until the following year that he
deemed it prudent to meddle with the form of govern-
ment, and to substitute new officials for the schout,
burgomaster and schepens. On the 12th of June, 1666,
he issued the first English charter, since known as the
Nicolls Charter, which revoked the form of the muni-
cipal government, and placed the executive power in the
hands of a mayor, five aldermen and a sheriff, accord-
ing to the English custom of incorporation ; said officers
to be appointed by the governor. Thomas Willett was
appointed mayor; Thomas Delavall, Oloffe Stevensen
Van Cortlandt,* John Brugges, Cornelius Van Ruyven
and John Lawrence, aldermen, and AUard Anthony,
sheriff. Thomas Willett, the first mayor of New York
city, and great-great-grandfather of Col. Marinus Willett
of Revolutionary memory, who held the same office a
hundred and forty-two years after, was one of the Ply-
• See Appendix, Note F.
158 HISTORY OF THE
mouth Pagrims. He had emigrated from England in
1629, and soon after engagmg in trade with New
Amsterdam, had purchased land in the city, and finally
become a permanent resident. He was a popular man
among his fellow-citizens, and this fact, joined with the
judicious mingUng of Dutch and EngUsh in the appoint-
ment of the other officials, disposed the people favorably
towards the new government. Soon after, jury trials
were established in the city. The governor retained the
right to himself and his council to impose taxes and to
enact or modify laws as they might deem proper. This
last clause was distasteful to the people, and occasioned
much complaint during his administration.
The city records were now ordered to be kept both in
Dutch and EngUsh, and Nicholas Bayard was appointed
assistant clerk to the Common Council ; the principal
secretary, Johannes Ndvins, being imperfectly versed in
the English language.*
At this time, the city contained about fifteen hundred
inhabitants, consisting of people of every sect in the
nation. The only church, however, in the city, was the
stone edifice within the walls of the fort, erected by Wil-
helm Kieft, in which the Dutch Reformed service had
hitherto been performed. The service of the Church of
England was now introduced, and Nicolls, who appears
to have been a man of liberal sentiments, gave the
Lutherans permission to erect a church for themselves
and to send to Europe for a preacher of their own
denomination, which they had sought in vain from Stuy-
* See Appendix, Note G.
CITY OP N EW YORK
159
vesant. They availed themselves of this, and built a
small church in which the Rev. Jacob Fabritius, who
arrived in 1669, officiated as the first minister. It was
not long before dissensions arose between him and his
charge, who accused him of grave misdemeanors, which
seem to have been substantiated, as, on inquiry, the
governor and council suspended him from the ministry,
permitting him only to preach a farewell sermon and to
install Bernardus Arent as his successor. Fabritius soon
after returned to Holland. On the recapture of the
province by the Dutch, this church was removed by the
orders of Governor Colve. It was rebuilt after the
retrocession on the site of the future Grace Church on
the west side of Broadway, for which a patent was
obtained from Governor Dongan. The first churches
were but temporary buildings. The structure in Broad-
way, which was destroyed by the fire of 1776, was built
in 1710, soon after the commencement of the adminis-
tration of Governor Hunter, and chiefly through the
efforts of the newly-arrived Palatines.
Old Latheran Church in Frankfort Street. Erected in 17G7.
160 HISTORY OP THE
Soon after the capture of the province by the English,
the territory forming the j)resent State of New Jersey,
which had hitherto belonged to New Netherland, was
granted by the Duke of York to Lord Berkeley and Sir
George Carteret as a distinct and separate province.
The boundaries between New York and Connecticut
were also defined by commissioners appointed for the
purpose, and Long Island was adjudged the property of
the former.
In the meantime, this invasion of the Dutch possessions
in a time of profound peace had caused a war between
England and Holland, and a rumor that a hostile squad-
ron under the command of the formidable De Ruyter had
been dispatched by the States General to recapture the
lost province gave the governor great alarm. He imme-
diately set about strengthening the fortifications, which
were very much out of repair, and making preparations
for defence ; and summoned the citizens to aid him in
the work. This they were reluctant to do. A few,
indeed, offered to assist him, but the majority were not at
all inclined to war against their own countrymen, how-
ever indifferent they might be to the result of the strug-
gle. But, ere long, peace was declared, and by the treaty
of Breda in 1667, the province of New Netherland was
ceded to the English government in exchange for Suri-
nam, though many of the English grumbled at the
exchange, and complained that their countrymen had
been overreached in the bargain.
After administering affairs with considerable sagacity
for three years. Colonel NicoUs determined to return
to Europe, and, having asked and obtained his recall,
CITY OP NEW YORK. 161
set sail on his homeward voyage in August, 1668. He
engaged in the subsequent war against Holland, and was
killed in a naval engagement in 1672. Colonel Francifl
Lovelace was appointed his successor.
The change of rulers was not to the advantage of the
people. Lovelace proved far more despotic than Nicolls
had been. The people had long since demanded the
right of levying their own taxes, and of controlling their
own affairs ; but the governments, both Dutch and Eng-
lish, had decided that their only right was to obey^ and
had made it their settled policy to force them to submis-
sion. This, Lovelace determined to do in the most effect-
ual manner. He ordered his deputy in the territory
west of the Delaware to carry out his measures in that
section of the country by levying such taxes on the peo-
ple as might give them *' liberty for no thought but how
" to discharge them ;" and proceeded himself to impose a
duty of ten per cent, upon all imports or exports to or
from the province. Contending for the rights of free-
bom Englishmen, among which, they claimed, was a par-
ticipation in legislation, several of the Long Island towns,
together with West and East Chester, petitioned for a
redress of grievances, but to no effect.
In 1690, Lovelace ordered the towns of Long Island
to contribute to the repairs of the fort at New York,
This they positively refused to do unless they were
admitted to a share of the government. Flushing, Hemp-
stead and Jamaica protested against this tyrannous pro-
ceeding ; for their sole answer, the governor and council
ordered the protests to be publicly burned by the hands
of the hangman. ,
11
-I
162
HISTORY OF THE
In 1669, a public seal was transmitted by the Duke of
York to the city authorities, together with a silver mace,
and gowns for the municipal officers. During the same
Pint Engliah Seal of the Province.
yeary Lovelace established a meeting for merchants on
FridajKS, between the hours of eleven and twelve, near
the briWe which crossed the sewer near the foot of
Broad sti^t. This was the site of the future Exchange.
The' hour oK meeting was announced by the ringing of
CITY OF NEW YORK. 16S
the stadt-huys bell, and the mayor was ordered to see
that no one disturbed the assembly.
In the same year, an incident occurred which proves
how absolute was the authority exercised by the gover-
nor and council, Marcus Jacobson, a Swede from Dela-
ware Bay, who had shown himself refractory under the
new regime, was brought to Manhattan, tried by a spe-
cial commission, and sentenced to death — then whipped,
branded and sent to Barbadoes to be sold into slavery —
his first sentence having been commuted through the
mercy of the governor.
In 1670, Lovelace purchased Staten Island from the
Indians, who complained that they had never received
full payment from the Dutch, for the consideration of
four hundred fathoms of wampum, together with several
axes, kettles and coats, and thus secured the island to the
property of the English government. He also approved
the race-course which had been instituted by Nicolls at
Hempstead, and directed that races should take place
there in future during the month of May. In 1673,
he established the first mail between New York and
Boston, consisting of a single messenger, who was
ordered to go and return with letters and packages once
within a month, for a *' more speedy intelligence ahd
** dispatch of aflFairs."
In 1672, Charles II., at the instigation of the French
government, proclaimed war against Holland. The
Dutch availed themselves of the opportunity to endeavor
to regain their lost province, and fitted out a squadron
of five ships, under the command of Admirals Benckes
and Evertsen and Captains Colve, Boes and Van Zye, to
164 HISTORY OF THE
sail against New York. The news of the expedition
soon reached the city. Instead of making preparations
to resist it, the governor placed the fort in the hands of
Captain John Manning, and set out for Albany to regu-
late the Indian difficulties which had sprung up in that
quarter. News was soon received that the Dutch fleet
had already arrived oflf the coast of Virginia, and Man-
ning immediately dispatched a messenger to the gover-
nor, who was then visiting in Westchester county, to
hasten his return. He came at once, and commenced
preparations for defence. The fort, which numbered
forty-six guns, was placed in a posture of resistance, a
force of four or five hundred men was mustered from
among the citizens, and the volunteers were drilled in
order to be in readiness for the expected attack. But
the enemy did not make their appearance ; and after
waiting a short time, the governor disbanded the troops
and set out on a journey to Connecticut. He bad not
waited long enough. On the 29th of July, 1673, the
hostile fleet appeared oflf Sandy Hook. Manning
instantly dispatched a messenger with the news to the
governor, and set to work to beat up recruits, both in
the city and country. His efforts were unavailing ; the
settlers in the country refused to aid him, while the city
volunteers, who themselves were Dutch, went to work
to spike the guns, and to render all possible assistance
to the enemy. The fort contained but about fifty sol-
diers, most of whom were ignorant of the art of war, and
the city was in a defenceless condition. The ships,
meanwhile, quietly sailed up the bay, and anchored at
Staten Island on the 30th inst.
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. 165
The position of aflfairs certainly seemed hopeless enough,
and Manning, who lacked both energy and courage, was
not the man to retrieve it. He dispatched a messenger
to the ships to inquire why they came in so hostile a
manner to disturb the peace of his majesty's eubjectB j
while, at the same time, the admirals of the expedition
dispatched a trumpeter with a summons to the said
subjects to surrender. The messengers crossed each
other on the way. Manning at once acknowledged the
receipt of the summons, and promised to give them a
definitive answer on the return of his messengers.
By way of reply, the Dutch admirals weighed anchor
and sailed up the bay ; then, anchoring opposite the
fort, they sent word to Manning that hall' an hour
would be given him to answer their summons. He asked
till the following morning to consider. The request was
refused him, and he was told that, after half an hour, a
fire would be opened upon the fort. The hulf-hour
passed without reply, when the Dutch kept their word,
and opened a heavy cannonade on the English, which
killed and wounded several of their men. Though many
of the guns were in order, and an eflfective fire might
have been poured on the ships, not a shot was fired in
return. It was not long before six hundred men, under
the command of Captain Anthony Colve, landed on the
island, and ranged themselves on the Commons prepara*
tory to marching into the city. The terrified Manning
beat a parley, and sent Captain Carr, Thomas Lovelace,
and Thomas Gibbs, to negotiate with Colve ; but as they
had nothing definite to oflFer, that functionary detained
Lovelace and Gibbs as hostages, and sent Carr back to
166 HISTORY OF THE
the fort, with a siunmons to Manning to surrender
within a quarter of an hour. But this summons was
never received. Carr, thinking it his best policy to pro-
vide for his own safety, made his way to the city gates,
and fled from the town without troubling himself about
his master. At the end of the time appointed, a trum-
peter was sent for an answer to the simimons, and was
told in reply that none had been received. ** This is
**the third time they have fooled us," exclaimed Colve
in a passion, as he ordered his men to march without
delay. They proceeded down Broadway, and, as they
approached the fort, were met by a messenger from
Manning, ofiFering a full surrender on condition that the
garrison should be allowed to march out with all the hon-
ors of war. To this Colve assented, and after witness-
ing the exit of the English intruders, the Dutch troops
continued their march down Broadway and again took
possession of the fort and of New York. The name of
the city was changed to New Orange, while the fort
became Fort William Hendrick. But the Dutch did not
keep their promise. The English soldiers were seized
and imprisoned, their baggage plundered, and many of
them carried away to foreign parts in the Dutch ships of
war. The governor was permitted to return with the
Dutch admirals to Europe.
The news of so easy a capture occasioned the deepest
mortification to the EngUsh government, as well as to
the absent governor and the New England colonies, and
on the recovery of the province in 1674, Manning was
tried in New York, by coxui>martial, for cowardice and
treachery. The charges brought against him were, that
\
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. 167.
he had not put the garrison in a fitting state of defence ;
but treated with the enemy, suffered their ships to ap-
proach and to send their boats ashore without firing upon
them ; and, finally, struck his flag and surrendered the
city, although the fort was in a tenable condition and the
garrison desirous to fight, and let in the enemy without
conditions, unless to himself. It was also said, and
believed by many, that he had been bribed by the Dutch
to surrender the city. In defence, he alleged that he had
no time to put the fort in a defensive posture ; that he
treated with the enemy in hopes to delay their attack
until aid should arrive ; that he did not fire because his
ambassadors were on board ; that their landing was
unknown to him, and that they were eight hundred strong,
while he had but seventy or eighty men in the fort ; that
it was for this reason that he ordered a flag of truce to be
raised, but that the English flag was struck without his
consent ; and that he made no conditions in his own
favor, but only demanded that the garrison should march
out with the honors of war. His defence, though rea^
sonable in many points, proved unavailing ; the English
were smarting under the insult which they had received,
and piqued that one of their forts should have fallen so
easy a prey to the enemy ; and Manning was found guilty
of the charges brought against him. His interest at
court saved him from the sentence of death, but he
was adjudged to have his sword broken over his
head by the executioner in front of the City Hall,
and to be forever incapable of holding any civil or
military oflBce in the gift of the crown. Lovelace
was also reprimanded by the English government,
168 HISTORY OF THE
and his estate ordered to be confiscated for the benefit
of the Duke of York.
The Dutch having thus regained possession of the
city, the commanders of the fleet issued a new charter,
restoring the former municipal government. Anthony
De Milt was appointed schout, with three burgomasters
and five schepens. Courts of Justice were established
at Delaware Bay, Albany, and Esopus, and the magis-
trates of the provincial towns were required to appear
at New Orange and swear allegiance to the Dutch
government. The squadron soon returned to Holland
accompanied by Lovelace, leaving Captain Anthony
Colve in command of the province.
The Dutch now reasserted their right to the province
of New Netherland, as defined by the boundaries agreed
upon in the Stuyvesant treaty, and Colve received a
commission from Benckes and Evertsen, the admirals of
the fleet, authorizing him to govern the said territory.
His rule was brief, but energetic. Taking a lesson from
the condition in which the fort had been left by his pre-
decessor, he determined that the next assailant should
not find it so easy a capture, and vigorously set to work
to place it in a defensive condition. The city palisades
and the works of the fort were repaired, the buildings
and inclosures that had accumulated about and crowded
upon the latter were ordered to be removed, the guns
were put in order, the ammunition looked to, and the
citizen companies and watch drilled for active service.
All exportation of provisions from the city for the next
eight months was forbidden, not more than two of the
sloops usually engaged in trading on the shores of the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 169
Hudson were suffered to be absent at the same time, and
every precaution was taken to strengthen the city and
enable it to resist an attack. It was supposed, and not
without reason, that the English would not give up this
coveted territory without a struggle, and Colve, himself
a military man, resolved that this should not be an easy
one. Everything assumed a military character. The
Commons became the place of general parade. The schout,
at the head of the general militia, reviewed them every
day before the stadt-huys at the head of Coenties Slip.
Every evening, at six, he received the keys of the city
ft-om the officers of the fort, and proceeded with a guard
of six men to lock the gates and to place a sentry of
citizens at the most exposed points. At sunrise, he went
the rounds again, unlocked the gates, and restored the
keys to the guard at the fort. At this time the city con-
tained three hundred and twenty-two houses.
Soon after Colve assumed the reins of government, a
charge of witchcraft was brought before him against a
woman of the city, but the brave old soldier treated it
with the contempt it deserved. New York was never
much infested with this plague, which spread i^ widely
in the New England States. Yet it is probable that
some were infected with the contagion, for in 1665,
Ralph Hall and his wife, residents of Setauket on Long
Island, were arraigned before the city court of assizes on
a charge of having caused the death of George Wood
and his child by sorcery. The court, having faith in the
black art, bound them both over to appear at the next
sessions, but the affair coming to the ears of Nicolls, they
were released from all recognizances, and acquitted of the
170 HISTORY OP THE
charge. In 1670, a similar accusation against a widow
named Katharine Harrison residing in Westchester, was
brought before the court. This woman had formerly
been a resident of Weathersfield, Connecticut, where
she had been tried for witchcraft, found guilty by the
jury, pardoned by the judge, and ordered to remove
from the colony. The odium followed her to her new
abode ; and her neighbors, fearful of the presence of so
dangerous a person, entreated that she might be driven
from the town. She was ordered by the court to give
security for her good behavior, and the proceedings
against her were finally dropped. Such was the rise and
pl-ogress of witchcraft in New York. Two other cases
occurred on Long Island which were referred to the New
England courts for trial, but they resulted in nothing.
Under the energetic rule of the warlike Colve, it is
probable that the English would have had some diflBculty
in retaking the city by force of arms. But the days of
the Dutch rulers were numbered. On the 9th of Feb-
ruary, 1674, a treaty of peace between England and
the States General was signed at Westminster, which
stored the country to its former possessors. It was not,
however, until the 10th of November of the same year
that the city was finally ceded to the English, and the
Dutch definitively dispossessed of the beautiful province
which they had discovered and peopled, and of which
they had retained possession for nearly sixty years. On
that day the fort was surrendered to Major Edmund
Andros, who had been appointed governor by the Duke
of York. The fort again became Fort James, and the
inhabitants of the province were absolved from their
CITY OF NEW YORK. 171
oaths of allegiance to the States General, and required to
swear fealty to the Bang of England. The new governor
and his council, which consisted of John Lawrence,
Captain Brockholst and Captain Dyre, met immediately
after the surrender of the fort, and restoring the English
form of municipal government, ordered that the magis-
trates who were in office at the time of the capture of
the city should continue their duties six months longer.
In the course of the following year, Andros appointed
William Dervall, mayor ; Gabriel Minvielle, Nicholas De
Meyer, Thomas Gibbs, Thomas Lewis, and Stephanus
Tan Cortlandt, aldermen ; and John Sharpe, sheriff. He
also decreed that four aldermen should constitute a court
of sessions.
It may not be amiss to close this chapter with a notice
of the early settlers who successively filled the may-
oralty from the appointment of Thomas Willett in
1665 to the recapture of the city by the Dutch, and
whose names have been omitted in the rapid progress of
our history. Names and documents are always uninter-
esting unless connected with events and associations ;
and mere lists of city officials can have little interest for
the general reader. Thomas Delavall, the successor of
Willett in 1666, and who afterwards filled the mayor's
chair in 1671 and 1678, was a captain in the English
army, who accompanied NicoUs in his invasion of the
city, and soon became a prominent man in the province.
He engaged in mercantile pursuits, and purchased seve-
ral estates in Manhattan and the vicinity, among which
were Great and Little Barent's, now Barn Islands, in the
Hellegat ; together with a cherry orchard of several
172 HISTORY OF THE
acres in the neighborhood of Franklin Square. From
this orchard, Cherry street derives its name. He died
in 1682, leaving several children, who married and
became permanent residents of the city.
Cornelius Steenwyck, mayor in 1668-69-70-82-83,
was a thorough-bred Netherlander, strongly attached to
all the customs of the Fatherland, and distinguished for
his inflexible integrity. He was a merchant, and one of
the wealthiest and most influential men in the colony. His
popularity was unbounded, as well among the English
as the Dutch portion of the community ; on one occasion,
he was appointed governor pro tern, during the tempo-
rary absence of Lovelace, and he was always found faith-
ful to his oaths of allegiance. He died in 1684, leaving
several children. His widow afterwards married Domine
Selinus, the clergyman of Brooklyn.
Matthias Nicoll, an English lawyer, who emigrated
from Islip in Northamptonshire in 1660, was Steen-
wyck's successor. He held the office but for one year.
Previously to this appointment, he had officiated as the
first English secretary of the province under Col. NicoUs.
He afterwards became one of the judges of the Supreme
Court, and removed to Queens county, where he pur-
chased large tracts of land, and died in 1687, leaving
numerous descendants.
John Lawrence, mayor of the city at the time of its
surrender to the Dutch, and subsequently in 1691, emi-
grated from England to the province during the admin-
istration of Kieft, and became one of the patentees of
the towns of Hempstead and Flushing. He took up his
residence in the city, where he had a house and store on
CITY OF NEW YORK. 173
the river shore, between Hanover and Wall streets j and
engaged in trade on the Hudson River. He died in the
city in 1699, leaving several children.
William Dervall, the first mayor of the city after its
restoration, was an English merchant who had removed
from Boston to New York during the administration of
NicoUs, and set up a store in company with his brother
near the lower end of Pearl street. His wife was the
daughter of Mayor Delavall, from whom he inherited
Great Barn Island, together with a large estate at Har-
lem. He was shrewd but upright, and was much
esteemed by his fellow-citizens.
The province thus passed away forever from the hands
of its Dutch rulers, but many years elapsed before the
Holland manners and customs were uprooted, and New
York became in truth an English city. Indeed, some of
them linger still, and New York yet retains a marked
individuality which distinguishes it from the eastern
cities, and savors strongly of its Dutch origin. The
memorials of the Dutch dynasty have fallen one by one ;
the Stuyvesant pear-tree is the only token now in being
of the flourishing nation which so long possessed the city
of New Amsterdam — ^the only link that connects the
present with the traditional past — and this must soon
fall before the slow decay of age. But the broad and
liberal nature of the early settlers is still perpetuated in
the cosmopolitan character of the city, in its freedom
from exclusiveness, in its religious tolerance, and in its
extended views of men and things. Though New York
has many faults, yet they are not petty ones. There is
no city on the western continent in which men more
174
HISTORY OF THE
naturally find their own level. Deeds find more respect
than persons, and each one rises and falls, if not by his
own merit, at least by his own endeavors. Most of the
other cities of the United States have descended in a
direct line from the pioneer settlers, retaining all the
types of the character which first gave them birth ; in
New York, this primitive type, instead of being predo-
minant, is blended with all the races of the earth ; and
if it be true, as one of our most eminent philosophers
asserts, that a mixture of many materials makes the best
mortar, there is no reason to regret it. The Dutch lan-
guage has disappeared, the Dutch signs have passed
away from the streets, and the Dutch manners and cus-
toms are forgotten, save in a few strongholds of the
ancient Knickerbockers. But the Dutch spirit has not
yet died out — enough of it is still remaining to enable
New York to trace its lineage in a direct line to its
parent — New Amsterdam.
NewYorkinlG74.
CHAPTER V.
1674.
New Amsterdam in the Old Datch Colony Timet.
Before proceeding further with the thread of our his-
tory, it may be well to glance at the condition of New
Amsterdam in the old Dutch Colony times, before its
primitive manners and customs had been adulterated by
English innovations. In tha beginning of the settlement,
the people had been forced to accommodate themselves
to the necessities of a new country, and their houses,
furniture and apparel had necessarily been of the rudest
kind. But, at the time of which we write, the city had
grown into a state of comparative wealth, and the
inhabitants were beginning to enjoy the comforts of
affluence, according to the standard of the times. This
differed somewhat from the modern estimate ; a burgher
worth a thousand dollars was esteemed rich ; and his ,
neighbor worth five hundred, a man in easy circum-
stances. But money has but a relative value, and
expenses were graded in conformity with the standard
of wealth.
In the beginning of the settlement, as we have
175
176
HISTORY OF THE
Household in the old Dutch Colony times.
already said, the houses were one story in height with
two rooms on a floor. The chimneys were of wood,
and the roofs were thatched with reeds and straw. The
furniture was of the rudest kind, carpets were unknown,
as indeed they continued to be for many years after ;
the stools and tables were hewn out of rough planks by
the hands of the colonists ; wooden platters and pewter
spoons took the place of more expensive crockery, and
naught but the indispensable chest of homespun linen and
a stray piece of plate or porcelain, a treasured memento
of the Fatherland, was seen to remind one of civilization.
CITY OF NEW YORK.
177
As the forests became cleared away, and the colony
increased, the style of living experienced a material
change. The straw roofis and wooden chimneys were
deemed misafe, and were ordered to be removed ; and
the settlers conmienced to build their houses of brick
and stone. For some time, the bricks were imported
from Holland ; in the administration of Stuyvesant, how-
ever, some enterprising citizens established a brick-yard
on the island ; and the material henceforth became pop-
ular in the colony. The northern part of the island fur-
nished abundance of stone. Many of the wooden houses
had checkerwork fronts, or rather gable ends of small
black and yellow Dutch bricks, with the date of their
erection inserted in iron figures, facing the street. Most
of the houses, indeed, fronted the same way ; the roofs
were tiled or shingled, and invariably surmounted with
a weathercock. The windows were small and the doors
large ; the latter were divided horizontally, so that, the
Dutch Grocery in Broad street
12
178 HISTORY OF THE
upper half being swung open, the burgher could lean
on the lower and smoke his pipe in peaceful contempla-
tion. Not less comfortable were the social "stoeps,"
and the low, projecting eaves, beneath which the
friendly neighbors congregated at twilight to smoke
their long pipes and discuss the price of beaver-skins.
These institutions have come down to our own times,
and are still known and appreciated in ihe suburbs of
the city.
Every house was surrounded by a garden, varying in
size according to the locality, but usually large enough
to furnish accommodations for a horse, a cow, a couple
of pigs, a score of barn-door fowls, a patch of cabbages,
and a bed of tulips. Owing in part to the short-sighted
policy which discouraged the introduction of English
horses and cattle into the province, the stock had greatly
deteriorated. The horses were branded with the name
of the owner, and turned out in summer to graze on the
waste lands in the upper part of the island, where they
bred rapidly ; then were again collected and housed in
autumn. At a later period, horses were imported from
the New England settlements, particularly the Narra-
gansett pacers, which were the most highly valued.
Carriages were unknown, and it was not until after the
Revolution that these came into general use. Lum-
ber wagons and sleighs were the only modes of convey-
ance in the old Dutch colony times. In 1696, the first
hackney coach was introduced into the city ; later, one
horse chaises came to be used by the wealthiest inhabi-
tants ; but, with one or two exceptions, none but the
royal governors aspired to the luxury of a private carriage.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 179
Carpets, too, were almost unknown in the colony up
to the period of the Revolution. Now and then, a piece
of drugget, ostentatiously dignified by the name of car-
pet, and made to serve for the piu'pose of a crunib-
cloth, was found in the houses of the wealthiest burghers,
but even these were not in general use. The snow-wliite
floor was sprinkled with fine sand, which was curiously
stroked with a broom into fantastic curves and angles*
This adornment pertained especially to the parlor ; a
room that was only used upon state occasions. The first
carpet said to have been introduced into the city was
found in the house of the pirate, Kidd, this was merely
a good-sized Turkey rug, worth about twenty-fi^■o
dollars.
The most ornamental piece of furniture in the parlor
was usually the bed, with its heavy curtains and valance
of camlet and killeminster. Mattresses were as yet
unheard of; in their stead was used a substantial be (3
of live geese feathers, with a lighter one of down for a
covering. These beds were the pride of the notable
Dutch matrons ; in these and the well-filled chests of
home-made linen lay their claims to skill in housewifery.
The beds and pillows were cased in check coverings ;
the sheets were of home-spun linen, and over the whole
was thrown a patch-work bed-quilt, made of bits of
calico cut in every conceivable shape, and tortured
into the most grotesque patterns that could possibly be
invented by human ingenuity.
In a corner of the room stood a huge oaken, iron-
bound chest, filled to overflowing with household linen,
spun by the feminine part of the family, which they
180 HISTORY OF THE
always delighted in displaying before visitors. At a later
date, this gave place to ** the chest of drawers " of our
grandmothers' times — ^huge piles of drawers, placed one
upon the other and reaching to the ceiling, with brass
rings over the key-holes to serve as knobs. The escri-
toire, too, with its complication of writing-desk, drawers,
and mysterious pigeon-holes, came into use about the
same time ; but both of these were unknown to the
genuine Knickerbockers.
In another corner stood the Holland cupboard, with
its glass doors, displaying the family plate and porcelain.
The latter was rare, and, as a general rule, was ** wisely
** kept for show." Plate was more common, and there
were few wealthy families that had not their porringers,
tankards and ladles of massive silver, for plated ware
was then unknown. A few had tea-services of china —
tea-pots and sugar-bowls the size of a nut-shell, with
cups and saucers that might have served for a fairy,
adorned with quaint devices of men and things in the
most impossible positions, which all can appreciate who
have borne witness to th^ extreme fidelity of the paint-
ings of the Celestials. But more generally, the fragrant
bohea was sipped from the humbler pewter mugs, which
were ranged in shining rows upon the kitchen dressers.
Wooden-ware, too, was in universal use, and it was not
until several years after that even the coarsest delf oi
earthen-ware was imported into the colony. Glass-wan
was almost unknown ; punch was drank in turns by the
company, from a huge bowl, and beer from a tankard
of silver. Sideboards were not introduced until after
the Revolution, and were exclusively of English origin.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 181
Sofas, couches, lounges, and that peculiarly American
institution, the rocking-chair, were things unknown to
our Dutch ancestors. Their best chairs were of Russia
leather, profusely ornamented with double and triple
rows of brass nails, and so straight and high-backed as to
preclude the possibility of a moment's repose. Besides
these, the parlor was commonly decorated with one or
two chairs with embroidered backs and seats, the work
of the daughters of the family. After the capture of
the province, cane-seat and mahogany chairs were intro-
duced, but these were unknown to the primitive Hol-
landers. The kitchen chairs were usually rush-bottomed.
Couches and high-backed settees were introduced about
the time of the Revolution — sofas are an innovation of
modern times. Mahogany had not yet come into use ;
nearly all the furniture was made of oak, maple, or nut-
wood.
Tables were not yet ranked in the category of orna-
mental ftirniture. The round tea-table, indeed, with the
leaf turning up perpendicularly, like a Chinese fan, occu-
pied a conspicuous place in the corner of the parlor ;
but this room was sacred to the social gatherings, so much
in vogue among the Knickerbockers, denominated *' tea-
parties," which may account for its presence. The great,
square dining-table, with kaves upheld by extended
arms, stood in the kitchen for daily use. Japanned tea-
tables and card-tables were introduced at a later date.
Some half-dozen clocks were to be found in the settle-
ment, with about the same number of silver watches :
but as these were scarcely ever known to go, their exist-
ence was of very little practical consequence. No watch-
182 HISTORY OF THE
maker had yet found it to his interest to emigrate, and
the science of horology was at a low ebb in the colony.
The flight of time long continued to be marked by sun-
dials and hour-glasses ; indeed, it is only since the Revo-
lution that clocks have come into general use. About
1720, the comer-clocks, consisting of cases reaching
from the floor to the ceiling, with the dial at the top
and the pendulum swinging almost at the bottom were
introduced. These were all imported, nor were any
manufactured in the coimtry until within a comparatively
recent date.
Small looking-glasses in narrow black frames with
ornamented corners were in general use. Two or three
of the wealthiest burghers were the possessors of large
mirrors, in two plates, the upper one elaborately orna-
mented with flowers and gilding ; but these were objects
of luxury to which but few could aspire. Pictures were
plentiful, if we may believe the catalogues of household
furniture of the olden times ; but these pictures were
wretched engravings of Dutch cities and naval engage-
ments, with family portraits at five shillings a head, which
were hung at regular intervals upon the parlor walls.
The window curtains were generally of flowered chintz,
of inferior quality, simply run upon a string. Yet among
these, as in the wearing apparel and the hangings of the
beds, were sometimes found specimens of costly India
stuffs, which had found their way, through the Dutch
East India Company to these distant shores, and many
rare articles of Eastern luxury thus floated in the wake
of commerce to the homes of the wealthy burghers.
Stoves were never dreamed of by the worthy Knick-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 183
erbockers, but in their stead they had the cheerful fire-
place— sometimes in the corner, sometimes extending
almost across the length of the room — with its huge
back- log. and glowing fire of hickory wood. The shovel
and tongs stood, one in each comer, keeping guard over
the brass-mounted andirons which supported the blazing
pile. In front was the brass fender, with its elaborate
ornaments ; and a curiously wrought fire-screen stood in
the corner. Marble mantels had never yet been thought
of ; but the chimney-pieces were inlaid with parti-colored
Dutch tiles, representing all sorts of scriptural and apoc-
ryphal stories. The kitchen fire-places were less preten-
tious, and of an immense size, so large that they would
almost have sufficed to roast an ox whole. Over the
fire swung the hooks and trammels, designed for the
reception of the immense iron cooking pots, long since
superseded by the modern stoves and ranges. The chil-
dren and negroes grouped in the spacious chimney cor*
ners, cracking nuts and telling stories by the light of the
blazing pine knots, while the ** vrouws " turned the spin-
ning-wheel, and the burghers smoked their long pipes
and silently watched the wreaths of smoke as they curled
above their heads. At nine they regularly said their
prayers, commended themselves to the protection of the
good St. Nicholas, and went to bed to rise with the dawn.
So regular was their lives that the lack of time-pieces
made but little difference. The model citizens rose at
cock crowing, breakfasted with the dawn, and went about
their usual avocations. When the sun reached the **noon-
*'mark," dinner was on the table. This was strictly a
family meal ; dinner parties were unheard of, and the
184 HISTORY or THE
neighbor who should have dropped in without ceremony
would have been likely to have met an indifferent wel-
come. But this apparent want of sociality was amply
atoned for by the numerous tea-parties. After dinner,
the worthy Dutch matrons would array themselves
in their best linsey-jackete and petticoats of their own
spinning, and, putting a half-finished worsted stocking
into the capacious pocket which hung down from their
girdle, with their scissors, pin-cushion and keys, outside
their dress, sally forth to a neighbor's house to " take
tea." Here they plied their knitting-needles and their
tongues at the same time, discussed the village gossip,
settled their neighbors' affairs to their own satisfaction,
and finished their stockings in time for tea, which was on
the table at six o'clock precisely. This was the occasion
for the display of the family plate and the Lilliputian
cups of rare old china, out of which the guests sipped
the fragrant bohea, sweetening it by an occasional bite
from the huge lump of loaf sugar which was laid invari-
ably by the side of each plate, while they discussed the
hostess' apple-pies, doughnuts and waffles. Tea over,
the party donned their cloaks and hoods, for bonnets
were not, and set out straightway for home in order to
be in time to superintend the milking and look after
their household affairs before bed-time.
As we have already said, the Dutch ladies wore no
bonnets, but brushed their hair back from their fore-
heads and covered it with a close-fitting cap of muslin
or calico ; over this they wore, in the open air, hoods of
silk or taffeta, elaborately quilted. Their dress consisted
of a jacket of cloth or silk, and a nimiber of short petti-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 185
coats of every conceivable hue and material, quilted in
fanciful figures. If the pride of the Dut^h matrons lay
in their beds and linen, the pride of the Dutch maidens
lay equally in their elaborately wrought petticoats, which
were their own handiwork, and usually constituted their
only dowry. The wardrobe of a fashionable lady usually
contained from ten to twenty of these, of silk, camlet,
cloth, drugget, India stuff and a variety of other
materials, all closely quilted, and costing from five to
thirty dollars each. They wore blue, red, and green
worsted stockings of their own knitting, with parti-col-
ored clocks, together with high-heeled leather shoes. No
finer material was known until after the Revolution.
Considerable jewelry was in use among them in the
shape of rings and brooches. Gold neck and fob chains
were unknown : the few who owned watches attached
them to chains of silver or steel ; though girdle-chains of
gold and silver were much in vogue among the most
fashionable beUes. These were attached to the richly
bound Bibles and hymn-books and suspended from the
belt outside the dress, thus forming an ostentatious
Sunday decoration. For necklaces, they wore numerous
strings of gold beads ; the poorer classes, in humble
imitation, encircled their throats with steel and glass
beads, and strings of Job's tears, the fruit of a plant
which was famed to possess some medicinal virtues.
The burghers wore long-waisted coats, with skirts
reaching ahnost to the ankles, vests with large flaps, and
nmnerous pairs of breeches. The coats and vests were
trimmed with large silver buttons, and decorated with
lace. The low-crowned hats were made of beaver
186 HISTORY OF THE
— caps of fur and taffeta were also much in vogue.
Though this costume was somewhat ponderous, the gen-
tlemen do not appear to have fallen behind the ladies
in extravagance in dress. Taffeta, plush and velvet were
the favorite materials for their habiliments ; their shoe-
buckles and buttons were of solid silver, and thej
sported silver-hilted small swords and ivory-mounted
canes. A few wore wigs ; though the most wore their
hair plaited tightly in cues.
But these garments were susceptible of indefinite pre-
servation ; for the every-day apparel was of good sub-
stantial homespun. Every household had from two to
six spinning-wheels for wool and flax, whereon the women
of the family expended every leisure moment. Looms,
too, were in common use, and piles of home-spun cloth
and snow-white linen attested to the industry of the
active Dutch maidens. Hoards of home-made stuffs
were thus accumulated in the settlement, sufficient to last
till a distant generation. Cotton cloth was a fabric
unknown. The women spun and wove, milked and
churned, and attended to their household matters ; the
men traded with the natives or the other colonies, or
kept their shops in their own city — ^no one was idle.
They made no haste to be rich, were not given to specu-
lation in bank stock or real estate, or any other of those
schemes for making a fortune in the twinkling of an eye
that only originate in the brain of the active and adven-
turous Yankees — ^that, their phlegmatic temperament
forbade — ^but they realized the fable of the hare and the
tortoise, and made their way up the ladder of fortune
slowly but surely.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 187
Books were rare luxuries in these times ; with the
exception of the libraries of the domine and the doctor,
Bibles and prayer-books constituted the sole literature of
the settlement. These were objects ctf considerable dis-
play, being gorgeously bound, and worn suspended from
the girdle by gold and silver chains of considerable value.
The intellectual wants of the community were satisfied
by the weekly discourses of the domine in the.chufch of
St. Nicholas, as yet the only one in the city. Thither
the farmers drove from their bouweries on Sundays,
with their wives and children arrayed in their best,
and, leaving their farm-wagons upon the Bowlmg
Green, turned their horses loose to graze on the grassy
hill-slope outside the fort during the hours of service.
In these hours, profound silence was enjoined upon the
colony ; the remainder of the day was given to the
Indians and negroes for recreation. But, though the
Reformed Dutch Church within the walls of the fort was
the only one as yet erected in New Amsterdam, it must
not be inferred that there was a corresponding unanimity
of religious opinion. Numerous religious organizations
were already in existence, which, restrained by the
repressive policy of Stuyvesant, were only waiting the
advent of a more tolerant government to erect churches
and chapels of their own. The service of the Church of
England had abready been performed by an English chap-
lain in the chapel in the fort during the administrations
of Nicolls and Lovelace ; the Lutherans and French Cal-
vinists also had preachers of their own. The prevailing
religious denomination was the Dutch Calvinist ; but
there were a few Episcopalians, a few Roman Catholics,
188 HISTORY OF THE
some Anabaptists, some Independents, several Jews, a
number of Quakers, and a great many of no faith at all.
At the time of the cession of the province to the English,
no less than eighteen diflferent languages were spoken in
the city. Its rehgious tolerance had made it the refuge
of the persecuted of every sect and clime, while its com-
mercial advantages had attracted enterprising adven-
turers' from all parts of the world, and had thus laid the
foundation of a cosmopolitan city. All this tended to pro-
duce greater breadth of view and liberality of sentiment
than was to be found in the New England colonies,
where but one sect was tolerated, and which were made
up almost exclusively of a single nation.
An outline of the streets of New Amsterdam at the
time of the surrender to the English in 1664, will indi-
cate the genealogy of the present streets of the city. A
minute account of the residents, with the location of their
property, which would extend beyond the scope of the
present work, has already been given by Mr. Valentine
in his valuable history.
Beginning at the ferry, along the road which led to
the water-gate at the eastern extremity of the city-wall,
was the Smiths Vly or VaUey, stf called from a black-
smith by the name of Cornelius Clopper, who set up his
forge oix the comer of Maiden Lane and Pearl street,
where he intercepted the custom of the Long Island
farmers, on their way to the city from the ferry. This
road ran along the high water mark, and, consequently,
was only built upon one side.
Next came Hoogh straat, which extended along the
river shore, the line of which is marked now by' the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 189
north side of Pearl between Wall and William streets,
and both sides of Stone between William and Broad
streets. On the north side of Pearl between Broad and
William streets, extending thence along the shore to
Wall street was the Waal or ** Sheet Pile street " built to
protect the City Hall which fronted it on the northwest
corner of Pearl street and Coenties Slip, from the wash-
ing of the tides.
Still continuing on the road along the shores of the
river was the Water Side, extending along the northern
side of Pearl from Broad street to Whitehall, in front
of the old church, erected outside the walls of the fort
for Domine Bogardus in the days of Wouter Van Twiller.
This terminated in Perel street, which ran from White-
hall to State street. About the Battery were a few scat-
tered buildings, among others, the house and store of
Jacob Leisler on the west side of Whitehall street,
between Pearl and State streets, and the old ** White
Hall " of Governor Stuyvesant which gave its name to
the first named street.
Beginning at the east side of Whitehall above Stone
street and extending to Heere straat or Broadway was
'*T' Marckvelt," afterwards Marketfield street, so called
from the Bowling Green which fronted it, and which was
then used at stated times for a cattle fair or market. At
the western extremity of this street began Heere straat,
the ancestor of the present Broadway, which extended to
the west or land gate of the city wall, along the southerly
side of which ran Wall street to the East River.
In the interior of the city, were the Heere graft, the
inlet from which sprung the present Broad street^
190 HISTORY OF THB
extending from the river to Beaver street, and the
Prince graft, the continuation of the same from Beaver
to Garden street or Exchange Place, above which was an
open common, used as a sheep pasture. From its inter-
section with these, an open ditch marked the course of
the Beaver graft to Broadway, on each side of which,
buildings were erected.
Beginning at Broad, and extending through Stone to
Whitehall streets was Brouwer or Brewer straat, so called
from having been the site of a number of breweries. In
this street, stone pavements were first laid in the city,
whence its future name. From the East River to Broad-
way ran T' Maagde Paatje, or the Maiden's Path.
From the bridge that crossed the inlet at Broad street
ran Brugh or Bridge straat to Whitehall, on the comer
of which was the house and store of Cornelius Steen-
wyck, the principal merchant of New Amsterdam.
Beginning in the middle of Bridge street and extending
to Stone street, parallel with Whitehall, was Winckel
street, or the street of the stores, so called from the
Company's storehouses, which fronted it on the east.
This is now /consolidated into a single block, and
Winckel street is known only on the maps of olden
time. Last of all came Smee street, on the line of Wil-
Uam between Wall and Pearl streets, so called from the
glass-maker, Jan Smeedes, who is supposed to have been
its earliest resident. Other streets and lanes soon
sprung into existence with the new colonization, but
these long continued to be known as the ancient land-
marks, and to this day, the line of but one has been
blotted from the map of the city.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 191
At this time, and long after, the inhabitants of the city-
continued to be distinguished for their frank good-nature,
their love of home, and their cordial hospitality. A late
writer says, speaking on this subject : ** The hospitality
"and simple plainness of New York city down to the
"period of 1790 and 1800 was very peculiar. All felt
** and praised it. Nothing was too good and no attention
" too engrossing for a stranger. The name was a pass-
" port to everything kind and generous. All who were
"introduced invited them to their house and board."
May we not hope that some of the spirit of the ancient
Ejiickerbockers still remains to us, and that we are not
churlish in our welcome of the strangers who visit our
shores ?
Yet, despite the staid decorum of the city, it was over-
flowing with sociaUty and genial humor. Fast young
men, fashionable amusements, late hours, and dissipation
were wholly unknown, but there was no lack of hearty
and homely sports. Of holidays, there were abundance ;
each family had some of its own ; birth-days and marriage
anniversaries were religiously observed in the family cir-
cle, and home-ties were thus drawn more closely together.
Each season, too, brought its own peculiar festivals, and
many new ones were invented to meet the social exi-
gencies. The people held firmly to the old maxim that
"many hands make light work," and never failed, when
any extra task presented itself, to make it the occa-
sion for a social gathering. Thus they had " quilting-
"bees," "apple-bees," " husking-bees," and "raising-
"bees," in which the allotted task was soon completed
by the nimble fingers of the busy workers, who then sat
192 HISTORY OF THB
down to a supper of chocolate and 'soft waffles, and ter-
minated the evening by a merry dance. Dancing was a
favorite amusement ; the negroes danced to the music
of their rude instruments in the market-place ; and the
youths and maidens danced at their social gatherings, as
well as around the May-pole on the Bowling Green on
the first of May. This latter day was also memorable
for another festival, which is indigenous to New York,
and has grown into an institution — ^it was the general
moving-day, and all who changed their residences
were expected to vacate the premises which they
occupied before the hour of noon. Rents ranged
from twenty-five to one hundred dollars per annum;
the houses being worth from two hundred to a thousand
dollars each.
Besides the holidays which we have noted, the Dutch
had five national festivals which were observed through-
out the city ; namely, Kerstrydt (Christmas) ; Nieuw jar
(New Year) ; Paas (the Passover) ; Pinxter (Whitsun-
tide) ; and Santa Glaus (St. Nicholas or Christ-kinkle
day). Most of these have come down to our own time
in a form but slightly varied from the ancient obser-
vance. Christmas day opened with a general exchange
of '* merry Christmas" greetings throughout the city,
and he bore off tlie palm who was the first to offer the
wish to his neighbor; and this over, "turkey shooting"
came next in order, and the young men repaired to '*the
" Commons" or to " Beekman's Swamp" to shoot at tur-
keys which were set up for a target. Each man paid a
few stuyvers for a shot, and he who succeeded in hitting
the bird bore it off as a prize. The older citizens, mean-
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. 193
while, gathered about the young sportsmen, criticising
their skill, and telling tales of their own youthful dex-
terity. At home, the day was commemorated by a family
dinner, after which the children and patriarchs joined
together in a merry dance, and closed the day with
gaiety and good humor.
New Year's day wa« devoted to the interchange of
visits. Every house in the city was open, no stranger
was unwelcome, cake, wine and punch were provided in
profusion, and the opening year was greeted with gene-
ral conviviality. It was considered a breach of etiquette
for any one to omit a single acquaintance in his round of
calls, and acquaintanceships were renewed and half-dis-
severed intimacies knotted again in the cordial warmth
of the New Tear's greeting. This custom, which has
come down to our own times, has now extended to
other cities, but its origin belongs exclusively in New
York.
Paas, or Easter and Easter Monday, was once a
notable festival in the city ; though now it is nearly
forgotten, except among the children, who still crack
colored eggs in honor of the occasion. Not many
years have passed, however,* since this holiday enjoyed
as wholesale an observance as the others we have men-
tioned, and colored eggs were found upon every table.
But the festival is passing away, and will soon, like
Pinxt^r, be utterly forgotten.
But Santa Claus day was the best day of all in the
estimation of the little folks, who, of all others, enjoy
holidays the most intensely. It is notable, too, for hav-
ing been the day sacred to St. Nicholas, the patron saint
13
194 HISTOByOF THE
of New York, who presided at the figure-head of the
first emigrant ship that touched her shores, who gave
his name to the first church erected within her walls,
and who has ev er since been regarded as having especial
charge of the destinies of his favorite city. To the
children, he was a jolly, rosy-cheeked little old man,
with a low-crowned hat, a pair of Flemish trunk-hose,
and a pipe of immense length, who drove his rein-
deer sleigh loaded with gifts from the frozen regions of
the North over the roofs of New Amsterdam for the
benefit of good children. Models of propriety were they
for a week preceding the eventful Christmas eve. When
it came, they hung their stockings, carefully labelled, that
the Saint might make no mistakes, in the chimney comer,
and went early to bed, chanting the Santa Claus hymn,
in addition to their usual devotions. For the hymn and
the translation, which we give entire as a curiosity, we
are indebted to D. T. Valentine, Esq.
'* Sint Nicholaas, goed heilig man,
Trekt nw' beaten Tabbard an.
En reist daarmee naar Amsterdam,
Van Amsterdam naar Spanje,
Waar nppellen von Oranje,
En appelen ran Oranaten,
Rollen door de Straten.
Sint Nicholaas, myn goden Vriend,
Ik heb u altjd wel gediend,
Als gy my nu wat wilt geben,
Fal ik u dienen als myn leren.**
TRAHSLATION.
** Saint Nicholas, good holy man,
Put your best Tabbard on you can,
And in it go to Amsterdam,
From Amsterdam to Hispanjc,
CITT OF NEW YORK.
195
Where apples bright of Orange,
And likewise those, pomegranites named,
Roll through the streets all unreoUimed.
Saint Nicholas, my dear, good friend.
To serve you ever was my end ;
If you me now something will give.
Serve you I will as long as I live.**
These rhymes, Mr. Valentine tells us, continued to be
sung among the children of the ancient Dutch families as
late as the year 1851. But the custom is passing away,
and the Christmas gifts are now given prosaically without
legend or tradition. It is to be regretted, for childhood
is the golden age of illusions, and short as this illusion
may be, all who have tasted it know how sweet were
the fruits that grew in the mysterious gardens of the
good old Santa Claus. Peace to his ashes !
Santa Glaus, the Patron Saint of New Ainsierdam.
CHAPTER VI.
1674—1689.
New York under the new Regime— ProgreM of the City.
Edmund Andbos, afterwards known as the *' tyrant of
"' New England/' was a man of niarked ability, but impe-
rious, and despotic in the highest degree. This was
doubtless owing, in part, to the commands of the Duke
of York, of whom he was a devoted follower, and who
had given him instructions to continue the arbitrary
course of policy pursued by the former government.
No sooner was he installed in his office, than the people,
hoping some advantage from the change of rulers,
renewed their petition for an assembly of representatives.
Andros laid the petition before the Duke of York, and
strongly advised him to grant it. James, who regarded
popular assemblies as dangerous and useless, utterly
refused to listen to their prayer. ** What do they want
** with assemblies ? " said he. ** They have the Court of
** Sessions, presided over by the governor ; or, if this is
** not enough, they can appeal to me." Such was the
estimation in which the rights of the people were held
by their royal masters. As another sample of the spirit
CITY OP NEW YORK. 197
of the times, we may quote the remark made a short
time before by Sir William Berkeley, the governor of
Virginia, who ** thanked God that there were neither free
"schools nor printing-presses in the colony." **God
*' keep us from both," added he, fervently. And Lord
Effingham, his successor, was directed on no account to
suffer the latter to be established. The New England
colonies, however, enjoyed a representative government,
and this excited the envy of the New Yorkers, particu-
larly of the inhabitants of the eastern towns of Long
Island, who petitioned to be annexed to Connecticut,
alleging, as a pretext, their New England origin. The
request was refused, and Andros, intent on enlarging his
province, attempted to extend its boundaries to the
Connecticut River — the ancient limit — and repaired to
Saybrook with several armed sloops to enforce his claim.
The people immediately prepared for resistance ; and
Andros, seeing that he must fight or retreat, chose the
latter, and returned to New York. He afterwards took
forcible possession of Sagadahoc, a district in Maine
between the Kennebec and the Penobscot, inhabited by
a few Dutch settlers. Here, he erected a fort and con*
stituted the county of Cornwall. Martha's Vineyard and
Nantucket, and a tract west of the Delaware, extending
to the Schuylkill, were also included within the limits of
the province, which contained, at this time, thirty-two
towns and villages.
Though forced by the commands of his patron to deny
to the citizens the political privileges which they so much
desired, the new governor strove to make amends for
it by promoting public improvements. In 1676, he
198 HISTORY OF THE
appointed as mayor, Nicholas De Meyer, a native-born
Hollander, and one of the most enterprising traders of
the province. Mayor De Meyer had emigrated from
Holland at an early age, married the daughter of Hen-
drick Van Dyck, one of the most influential burghers,
and grown up with the city, where many of his descen-
dants are yet to be found.
Ordinances were established by the governor for regu-
lating the public morals, and promoting the welfare of
the city. The city gates were ordered to be closed at
night at nine o'clock, and to be opened at daylight. The
citizens were required to keep watch by turns, and w^ere
fined for absence or neglect of duty, and all profanity and
drunkenness were strictly forbidden. Every citizen was
ordered to provide himself with a good musket, or fire-
lock, with at least six charges of powder and ball ; and
to appear, with good arms, before the captain's colors at
the first beating of the drum.
All masters of vessels, on arriving in port, were
required to give a full list of their passengers to the
mayor, under penalty of a fine of a beaver-skin for each
offence. Peddling was forbidden and none were per-
mitted to sell goods at retail but freemen or burghers of
the city. For this freedom, the merchants paid six bea-
vers, and the mechanics two ; unless they kept up an
establishment therein, all lost it after twelve months'
absence from the city. Six wine and four beer taverns
were licensed by the governor, with permission to both
to sell strong liquors ; the rates of fare being regulated
as follows : Lodging, three pence and four pence per
night ; meals, eight pence and a shilling ; brandy, six-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 199
pence per gill ; French wines, fifteen pence per quart,
rum, threepence per gill ; cider, fourpence per quart ;
beer, threepence per quart ; and mum, sixpence per quart.
If an Indian was seen drunk in the street, the tavern-
keeper from whom he had obtained the liquor was fined ;
if the latter could not be found, the whole street was forced
to pay the penalty. No grain was suffered to be distilled,
unless unfit for flour. Two years after, the excise on
liquors was removed, and all were permitted to buy or
sell in quantities exceeding a gallon.
All owners of vacant lots or ruinous buildings, were
directed at once to build upon or improve them under
penalty of seeing them sold at public auction. The tan-
pits in Broad street were declared a nuisance, and the
tanners ordered to remove beyond the limits of the city.
They established themselves along Maiden Lane, which
was then a marshy valley. A company of four shoe-
makers, who were also their own tanners, purchased a
tract of land bounded by Maiden Lane, Broadway, Ann
street, and a line between William and Gold streets, and
set up their business there. Henceforth this became
known as "the Shoemaker's Land ;" and later, in 1696,
lehen Maiden Lane was regulated, and the land surveyed
and divided into town lots, it still retained its original
title. The tanners were eventually driven from their
locality, and forced to take refuge in the ** Swamp," in
the vicinity of Ferry street, of which more hereafter.
Other improvements, too, were made in Broad street.
This, which had originally been a little rivulet, conveying
the water from the marshes above Beaver street to the
river, was lined with planks and converted into an open
300 HISTORY OF THE
sewer. The upper part of this drain was called the
Prince graft ; the lower part, the Heere graft. The fol-
lowing year, a new dock was built, property-holders
being taxed for the expense, at one and a half per cent
a pound. Three hundred and one names are found on
the list of the tax collector ; one-third of which are Eng-
lish, four French, and the remainder Dutch.
Slaughter-houses were ordered to be removed from
the city and to be built over the water at the Smith's
Fly, near the ** Rondeel " or Half-Moon fort at the foot of
Wall street. Permission was given to all the inhabitants
to cut wood anywhere on the island a mile distant from
a habitation. A weekly market was instituted, to be
held every Saturday in the market-house, at the foot of
Broad street. A yearly fair for cattle, grain and pro-
duce was also established, to be held at Breuckelen near
the ferry on the first Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
in November ; and on the Thursday, Friday and Satur-
day following, on the plain before the fort. For the
better provision of supplies, all persons were exempted
from arrest for debt while in attendance at these fairs.
In 1677, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, son of the well
known OlofTe Stevensen Van Cortlandt, and the first
native-born mayor, of the city, was appointed to the
mayoralty. Mr. Cortlandt, though still young, being but
thirty-four years of age when he attained to this position,
was already a prominent man in the city. He became
still more so in subsequent events, and we shall meet him
again in the affair of Leisler. He was a merchant and
large property-holder, owning the well known ** Clover
Waytie," south of Maiden Lane, a large farm near the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 201
Fresh Water Pond, and a piece of land in the vicinity
of the present Cortlandt street, which thus obtained ite
name, with a frontage of two hundred and fifty feet on
Broadway and extending quite down to the river shore ;
besides large tracts of land on the shores of the North
River. He died in the year 1701, leaving a large family^
the descendants of which are still to be found in the city.
During this year, seven pubUc wells were constructed
in the city. These were built in the middle of the streets,
and were especially designed for security against fires*
Water was generally scarce and bad. An occasional
spring of sweet water was found ; the best was in the
vicinity of the present corner of Chatham and Pearl
streets, but the march of civilization had not as yet
extended so far. Many years after, the citizens learned
to appreciate ito virtues, and christened it "the Tea
"Water Pump."
The following year, Pranpois Rombouts was appointed
mayor. Mayor Rombouts was a Frenchman by birth ; a
naturalized burgher, and a considerable merchant of the
city, who had for several years been a prominent poli-
tician. His house was near the corner of Broadway and
Rector street, on the site of the present Trinity Church,
surrounded by extensive groimds extending down to the
river shore. He held the office of mayor but for one
year, though he continued to take an active part in poli-
tics imtil the time of his death, in 1691. He left one
daughter, who afterwards married Roger Brett, a mer-
chant of the city.
During the brief administration of Mayor Rombouts,
the citizens received a boon from the governor which, m
202 HISTORYOPTHE
a few years, trebled their wealth, and laid the founda-
tion of the fortunes of New York. A considerable part
of the country was now under cultivation, and flour was
becoming an important article of trade. To secure the
advantages of this commerce to the citizens, Andros
granted them a monopoly of the bolting of flour,
together with the exclusive right of exporting it out of
the province, and forbade all other towns to engage in
the trade under penalty of the forfeiture of the articles.
This act excited the greatest indignation among the inland
towns, who used every effort to prociu:e its repeal. This
they effected in 1694, six years after its enactment, but,
during that time, the exports and imports of the city
had increased from two to more than six thousand
pounds sterling per annum, the shipping had increased
from three ships to sixty, and more than six hundred
new houses had been erected in the city. Lands
increased to ten times their former value, and a fever
for speculation broke out among the inhabitants, who
vainly endeavored to prevent the repeal of this ** bolting
"act," which brought them such golden fruit at the
expense of their neighbors. During Rombout's admin-
istration, the shipping of the city consisted of three
ships, eight sloops, and seven small coasting vessels. In
the same year an Admiralty Court was first established
in the province.
A curious law respecting the Indians is found upon
the records of 1778. Hitherto, the Indians had been free,
with the exception of a few slaves that had been brought
into the province from the Massachusetts Bay colony. It
was now enacted that all Indians who should come or be
CITT OF NEW YORK,
203
CITY OP NEW YORK. 205
brought into the province for the next six months, should
be sold for the benefit of the government. A lack of
negro slaves was probably the cause of the enactment
of this ordinance. The slave trade had long been
regarded as a legitimate branch of commerce, and there
was scarcely a household in the city that was not pro-
vided with from one to a dozen negroes ; yet the demand
increased with the increase of the settlement, and the
supply was found to be insufficient. Strict laws were
enacted to keep this brute force within due bounds ;
negroes were forbidden to assemble together without
special permission ; to leave their masters' houses after
nightfall, or to go beyond the city gates without a pass ;
yet all these precautions proved unavailing to prevent
the terrible catastrophe in which the system of slavery
culminated in 1741.
In 1680, Captain William Dyre, an Englishman who
had taken up his residence in the city soon after the acces-
sion of the English government, was appointed mayor.
He had been the commander of a naval force dispatched
in 1642 by Rhode Island for the reduction of Fort Good
Hope — a fact which did not increase his popularity among
his adopted citizens. He also held the office of collector
of customs — an office especially odious to the people.
Andros, meanwhile, had been compelled to repair
to England to answer charges brought against him by
Fenwick and Carteret, the proprietors of the Jerseys,
who accused him of having interfered with their privi-
leges. He set sail for Europe in 1680, intrusting the
government to Anthony Brockholst. The discontent of
the people increased daily ; they grumbled at the heavy
206 HISTORY OF THE
taxes which were arbitrarily imposed on them, and even
went so far as to accuse Dyre of levying them without
authority. On this charge, he was indicted by the grand
jury as a traitor, and was ordered to be tried by a spe-
cial court. He pleaded that he had acted under the
duke's commission, and, as this could not be gainsayed,
he was sent to England for trial, and the port was left
without a collector. The complaint was dismissed for
want of evidence, none of the citizens having seen fit to
appear as accusers ; but they had accomplished their
object in getting rid of the oflScer. Meanwhile, for a
few months, the port remained free. Cornelius Steen-
wyck succeeded to the mayoralty. A census of the city
was taken this year, and it was found to contain two hun-
dred and seven houses, and two thousand inhabitants.
Andros soon returned, cleared from the charges of his
enemies, with instructions to continue the system of tax-
ation which weighed so heavily upon the citizens. But
the resistance of the people, who went so far as to ques-
tion the supreme authority of the Duke of York, joined
with the remonstrances of William Penn, at length
induced the royal duke to bate something of his preten-
sions ; and in 1683, Andros was recalled, and Colonel
Thomas Dongan appointed in his stead, with instructions
to call a popular assembly.
Despite his sycophancy to the Duke of York, Andros
seems to have really had the interests of the province at
hearty and to have made the best of existing circum-
stancee. He remonstrated with his royal master against
the commands which he executed with fidelity, and he
certainly enacted a different roie in New York from that
V
CITY OF NEW YORK. 207
which he afterwards played in New England. But the
people, who only saw the power nearest them, were dis-
posed to impute to him much of the blame which
belonged in truth to the Duke of York, and they gladly
received the news of his recall. The fideUty of Andros
was not forgotten ; on the accession of the Duke of York
to the throne in 1685, he was knighted and appointed
royal governor of the colonies of New England ; a posi-
tion which soon involved him in inextricable difficulties.
Governor Dongan reached New York on the 25th of
April, 1683. He was of the Roman Cathohc faith ; a fact
which rendered him at first obnoxious to many ; but his
firm and judicious poUcy, his steadfast integrity, and his
pleasing and courteous address, soon won the affections
of the people, and made him one of the most popular of
the royal governors. In accordance with the instruc-
tions of his superiors, his first act after his arrival was to
call a general assembly of the people. This long hoped-
for concession was hailed with delight. On the 17th of
October, 1683, the first Assembly, consisting of the
governor, ten councillors, and seventeen representatives
elected by the people, convened in the city of New York.
This point gained, the contest continued, and New York,
the legblative capital of the province, was henceforth the
scene of bitter contention between the Assembly and the
royal governors. The first act of this body was to frame
a Charter of Liberties — ^the first popular charter of the
province. This Charter of Liberties ordained **that
* supreme legislative power should forever reside in the
'* governor, council and people, met in General Assem-
"bly ; that every freeholder and freeman might vote for
208 HISTORY OF THE
''representatives without restraint; that no freeman
" should suffer but by judgment of his peers, and that all
** trials should be by a jury of twelve men ; that no tax
" should be assessed on any pretence whatever, but by
** the consent of the Assembly ; that no seaman or soldier
*' should be quartered on the inhabitants against their
" will ; that no martial law should exist ; and that no
** person professing faith in God, by Jesus Christ, should
** at any time be in any way disquieted or questioned for
'* any difference of opinion in matters of religion."
The assemblies were to be held at least triennially ;
New York sending four representatives ; Suffolk, two ;
Kings, two ; Queens, two ; Richmond, two ; Westches-
ter, two ; Albany, two ; Schenectady, one ; Dukes county,
two, and Cornwall, two ; the number to be increased at
the pluiisure of the Duke of York. Twenty-seven was
the maximum number down to the period of the Revo-
lution. These representatives were free to appoint their
own time of meeting and of adjournment, and were the
sole judges of the qualifications of their own members.
In case of vacancy in the Assembly, the governor was
to issue summons for a new election. Bills passed by
this body were submitted to the governor for concur-
rence, and laws were repealed by the authority that
made them, with the consent of the Duke of York. One
of the first acts of the Assembly was the division of the
province into twelve counties — New York, Richmond,
Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Orange, Ulster, Albany, West-
chester, Duchess, Dukes and Cornwall. The two latter
were presently dropped from the list, and ceded to other
governments.
CITY" OP NEW YORK. 209
New police regulations were at once established. Sun-
day laws were enacted ; tavern-keepers were forbidden
to sell liquor except to travellers, citizens to work, child-
ren to play in the streets, and Indians and negroes to
assemble on the Sabbath: Twenty cartmen were licensed
by the municipal authorities, on condition that they
should repair the highways gratis whenever called on by
^e mayor, and cart the dirt from the streets, which the
inhabitants were required to sweep together every Sat-
urday afternoon beyond the precincts of the city. The
rate of cartage was fixed at three pence per load to any
place within the bounds of the city ; beyond which, the
price was doubled. The cartmen, however, soon proved
refractory, and a few weeks after, the license system
was abandoned, and all persons, with the exception of
slaves, were allowed to act as cartmen.
On the 8th of December, 1683, the city was divided
into six wards. The First or South Ward, beginning at
the river, extended along the west side of Broad to
Beaver street ; thence westward along Beaver street to
the Bowling Green ; thence southward by the fort to
Pearl street ; and thence westward along the river shore
to the place of starting. The Second or Dock Ward, also
beginning at the river at the southeast corner of Pearl
and Broad streets, extended along the shore to Hanover
Square ; thence northward though William to Beaver
street ; thence along Beaver to Broad street ; thence back
through Broad to the river shore. The Third or East
Ward formed a sort of triangle, beginning at the corner
of Pearl and Hanover Square, and extending along the
shore to the Half Moon fort at the foot of Wall street ;
14
210 HISTORY OP THE
thence stretching along Wall to the corner of William,
and thence returning along the east side of William to
the river. The Fourth or North Ward, beginning at the
northwest corner of William and Beaver streets, extended
through the former to the corner of Wall ; thence west-
erly along the palisades to a line a little beyond Nassau
street ; thence southerly to Beaver street ; thence easterly
along Beaver to the first-named point. The Fifth or West
Ward, beginning at the junction of the Fourth Ward with
Beaver street, extended northerly along the boundary line
of the latter to Wall street ; thence along the palisades
to Broadway ; thence southerly to Beaver street ; thence
easterly to the point of starting. The Sixth or Out
Ward comprised all the farms and plantations outside the
city walls, including the town of Harlem. Each of these
wards was authorized to elect an alderman and council-
man annually to represent them in the city government.
The governor and council retained the appointment of
the mayor in their own hands ; it was not, indeed, until
long after the Revolution that this office was made elec-
tive by the people.
The following year, a monopoly of packing flour and
making bread for exportation was granted to the citizens
in addition to the previous ** bolting act." At this time,
there were twenty-four bakers in the province. These
were divided into six classes ; a class being appointed
for each secular day of the week. The weight and price
of loaves was also regulated ; a white loaf weighing
twelve ounces being valued at six stuy vers in wampum.
This year, for the first time, the citizens elected their
aldermen and councilmen, Gabriel Minvielle, a mer-
chant of French origin, who had emigrated to the pro-
.L„
^
CITY OF NEW YORK. 211
vince in 1669, was appointed mayor. He held the office
but one year ; though he afterwards mingled largely in
politics, and took an active part with the aristocratic
faction in the aflFair of Leisler. He died in 1702, leaving
no children.
In 1685, the Duke of York succeeded to the throne
under the title of James II., and New York became a
royal province. His accession was marked by renewed
oppressions. In his new instructions to Dongan, he au-
thorized him, with his council, to resume the power of
enacting laws and imposing taxes ; and also directed him
on no account to suflFer printing-presses to be established
in the colony. He also urged Dongan to favor the intro-
duction of the Roman Catholic religion into the pro-
vince ; a course of policy which the governor, himself a
Catholic, was reluctant to adopt. The French in the
Canadas were using every eflFort to gain over the Iro-
quois through the influence of Jesuitical missionaries,
and the clear-sighted Dongan saw that it was necessary
to counteract this influence to preserve the province to
the English government. This conduct displeased James,
who was more of a churchman than a statesman, and
paved the way for Dongan's speedy recall.
On the 6th of August, 1685, the Assembly was dis-
solved by proclamation of the governor, and no other
was summoned during the reign of James. Nicholas
Bayard was chosen mayor for this year. Bayard was ot
Holland origin, and was cousin of Judith Bayard^ the
wife of Petrus Stuyvesant. Few men in the province
led a more eventful life. Entering early into politics as
well as into mercantile life, he amassed a fortune, and, at
212 HISTORY OF THE
the same time, became one of the prominent men of the
city. In the stirring times of the Leisler Rebellion, he
took sides with the aristocratic faction, was imprisoned,
tried, convicted of treason and sentenced to death by
the Leislerians ; then released and promoted to high
honors on the elevation of his own party to power. He
owned large tracts of land in various parts of the city,
among which was the well known ** Bayard Farm,"
lying on the west side of the Bowery above Canal street.
He died in 1711, leaving an only son who inherited his
large estates.
A disposition was manifested during this year towards
the persecution of the Jews, which was subsequently
carried much further. , The clause in the charter, grant-
ing tolerance to all who worshipped God through Jesus
Christ, was construed to exclude the Hebrew race, and
the Jews were forbidden to exercise their religion. They
were also prohibited from selling goods at retail, but were
permitted to continue the wholesale trade.
A public chimney-sweeper was appointed for the city,
who was to cry his approach through the public streets,
and who probably originated the whoop peculiar to his
vocation. His rates were fixed by law at a shilling and
eighteen pence per chimney, according to the height of
the house. A part of the slaughter-house over the
Smits's Vly was converted into a powder-magazine, its
distance from the city rendering it a safe place of
deposit for the explosive material, and Garret Johnson,
the proprietor of the estabHshment, was constituted the
keeper. Markets were ordered to be held three times a
week, though fish, poultry, butter, fruits and vegetables
CITY OF NEW YORK. 213
were permitted to be sold daily. A haven master was
appointed to look after the shipping and coUect the bills,
and surveyors were named to regulate the buildings and
preserve the uniformity of the streets.
In 1686, the Dongan Charter was granted to the city-
This instrument, which stiU forms the basis of the muni-
cipal rights and privileges of New York, confirmed the
franchises before enjoyed by the corporation, and placed
the city government on a definite footing. The governor
retained the appointment of the mayor, recorder, aheriff,
coroner, high constable, town clerk, and clerk of the
market in his own hands ; leaving the aldermen, as^sL^l-
ants, and petty constables to be chosen by the people at
the annual election on St. Michael's Day. As this char*
ter is given at length in the Appendix, we shall not
recapitulate its provisions here, but refer the reader to
the document itself for further information.*
In the same year, the city received a new seal from
City Seal of 1686.
* See Appendix, Note A.
214 HISTORY OF THE
the home goyernment. This still preserved the beaver
of the Dutch, with the addition of a flour-barrel and the
arms of a windmill in token of the prevailing commerce
of the city. The whole was supported by two Indian
chiefs, and encircled with a wreath of laurel, with the
motto, SiGiLLUM CiviTATis Novi Eboraci.
In 1687, Stephanus Van Cortlandt was again appointed
mayor. During his mayoralty, it was determined to
enlarge the city by building a new street in the river
along the line of Water street, between Whitehall and
Old Slip, and water lots were sold by the corporation on
condition that the purchasers should make the street
towards the water, and protect it by a substantial wharf
from the washing of the tide, in imitation of the Waal or
sheet pile street, extending along the line of Pearl
street, from Broad to William streets in front of the
City Hall. It was not, however, until some years after,
that this scheme was carried into effect, and the projected
street rescued from the waters.
Measures were also taken to enlarge the city still fur-
ther by placing the fortifications further out, and laying
out Wall street thirty-six feet wide. The fortifications,
indeed, were now worse than useless. The palisades
which had been erected in 1653 along the line' of Wall
street had fallen down, the works were in ruins, the
guns had disappeared from the artillery-mounts, and the
ditches and stockades were in a ruinous condition. Their
immediate removal was determined on and ordered, but
was delayed by the revolution which followed soon after.
When war broke out between France and England in
1693, they were again repaired to be in readiness for the
i
CITY OF NEW TOR*. 215
expected French invasion, and it was not until 1699 that
their demolition was finally accomplished. Wall street,
however, was laid out immediately, and it was not long
before it became one of the most important thorough-
fares in the city. During the same year, a valuation
was made of the city property, which was estimated on
the assessor's books at £78,231.
In the meantime, Indian affairs had claimed the atten-
tion of the governor. The treaty of peace, long since
concluded at Tawasentha between the Dutch and the Iro-
quois, had never been openly broken, and the Indian
war during Eaeft's administration had been definitively
ended by the interposition of these powerful tribes. Yet
the Five Nations had fancied themselves slighted by the
late governors, and their warriors had resented the sup-
posed insults by occasional aggressions upon the English
settlements. Just at this juncture, the French in Canada,
who had long been endeavoring to persuade the Iroquois
to acknowledge their sway, resolved to force them to
submission ; and organized a large army, designed for
their extermination. On hearing of this project, James II,,
regarding it as a good opportunity to rid the prov-
ince of a dangerous enemy, ordered Dongan not to
interfere in the matter. Dongan, however, was far too
honorable to see his allies murdered in cold blood, in
obedience to the will of his superiors. He warned the
Iroquois at once of their danger, and, promising them
assistance, invited them to meet him at Albany, to renew
the treaty of peace which had well-nigh been forgotten.
They were punctual at the rendezvous, and concluded a
new treaty, which was long respected by both parties. The
216 ^HISTORY OF THB
French made two invasions on the territory of the Iro-
quois, but, weakened by sickness and unacquainted with
Indian warfare, they soon returned with scattered ranks^
having eflfected nothing, except to arouse the wrath of a
powerful enemy. They had opened the door to a terrible
retribution. The Indians feU with fury upon the Cana-
dian settlements, burning, ravaging, and slaying without
mercy, until they had nearly exterminated the French
from the territory. The war continued until of all the
French colonies, Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivieres
alone remained, and the French dominion in America
was almost annihilated. Governor Dongan remaining
a firm friend of the Indians during his administration,
aiding them by his counsel, and doing them every good
office in Ms power. By this policy, he gained the fullest
confidence of the grateful savages, and the name of
^'Dongan, the white father" was remembered in the
Indian lodges long after it had grown indifferent to his
countrymen of Manhattan.
Willie Dongan was thus winning poptilarity abroad
among his savage aUies, a growing feeling of discontent
was springing up among his subjects at home. The
citizens were mostly Protestants, and bitterly opposed to
the Catholic religion ; many of them Waldenses and
Huguenots, who had fled from the religious persecutions
in Europe, and crossed the ocean to seek protection
under the tolerant Dutch government. On the cession
of the province to the EngUsh, they fell under the direct
rule of the Duke of York, a zealous CathoUc, and an
avowed opponent to the Protestant religion. On his
accession to the throne, he awakened their distrust still
CITY OP NEW YORK. 217
more by Burrounding himself with those of his creed,
and elevating them to most of the posts of honor and
profit in the kingdom. It was evidently and naturally
his settled purpose to encourage the growth of Catholic-
ism in his dominions, and though his plans for the con-
version of the Indians were thwarted by the pohcy of
Dongan, the Protestants saw his designs maturing in the
city. Roman Catholics began to emigrate rapidly ; the
collector of customs with several other prominent officials
were avowed Papists, and the minister of the church of
England, with many others, was suspected of secretly
favoring the same religion. The people grew jealous of
the CathoUc influence, and murmured loudly at the
spread of the obnoxious faith. Governor Dongan, who
was still popular, despite his creed, used every effort to
soothe their discontent "by choosing the majority of his
council from among the stanchest Protestants, and
showing the greater possible religious toleration. But
his judicious policy displeased his royal master, and, in
the midst of his politic measures, he was suddenly recalled
from the government. Resigning his command to Francis
Nicholson, the deputy of Sir Edmund Andros, who had
been appointed royal governor both of New England
and New York, he set sail for Europe. He afterwards
returned, and took up his residence on an estate on
Staten Island, for which he had previously procured a
patent, and which continued for many years in the pos-
session of his family.
Nicholson took possession of the government during
the month of August, 1688. On the 24th of the same
month, Andros issued a proclamation for a general
218 CITY OF NEW YORK.
thanksgiving for the birth of a prince, the heir to the
English crown. The next English mail brought start-
ling intelligence. The Prince of Orange had invaded
England, the people had everywhere flocked to his
standard, James had abdicated the throne and fled to the
continent in despair, and William and Mary, Prince and
Princess of Orange, had been proclaimed King and
Queen of England.
I
CHAPTER VII.
1689—1692.
Beyolntion of 1689— Aflkir of Lekler.
The news produced an instant revolution in the colo-
nies. The Prince and Princess of Orange were known
as stanch Protestants, and their accession to the throne
was hailed with delight. But a knotty point arose in
the administration of aflfairs. The commissions that had
been granted by James II. became null and void on the
receipt of this intelligence. The new sovereigns, involved
in the perplexities of home affairs, and hardly, as yet,
seated firmly on the throne, had found no time to for-
ward instructions to their distant colonies, who were
thus left without legal authority. Uncertain how to act,
they determined to act for themselves. The Bostonians
rose in arms, seized Sir Edmund Andros and his oflScers,
sent them to England, and resumed their former popular
government. The New Yorkers were not thus united-
While they recognized the supremacy of William and
Mary, a small party insisted that the colonial govern-
ment had not been overthrown by the late revolution,
but remained vested in the heutenant-govemor and his
119
220 HISTORY OP THE
council until further advices should arrive from England
This party consisted chiefly of the wealthiest and most
aristocratic portion of the citizens, and was headed by
Stephanus Van Cortlandt, mayor of the city, Nicholas
Bayard, colonel of the city militia, Frederick Philipse,* a
wealthy citizen, and Joseph Dudley ; all of whom were
members of the council, holding their commissions from
Dongan, the royal governor.
The mass of the people, on the other hand, maintained
that the whole government had been overthrown by the
deposal of James II., and that, as no one could longer
legally hold power from the late authorities, the people
themselves must rule until the arrival of the newly com-
missioned governor. The greatest excitement prevailed
throughout the city. Nicholson and his party, though
openly acknowledging the supremacy of the new gov-
ernment, were suspected of being still in the interests of
the late king. Rumors of every sort were abroad.
Nicholson himself was known to be an adherent to the
Catholic faith, as well as many of his party ; and this
fact increased the distrust of the people. A rumor was
spread that the Papists had plotted to attack the
Protestants while at church in the fort, massacre them
all, take possession of the government, and erect the
standard of the Pope and King James.
These extravagant rumors seem to have been ground-
less, but they, nevertheless, excited general consterna-
tion. The people of Long Island deposed their
magistrates and chose others in their stead ; and also
I * See Appendix, Note H.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 221
dispatched a large body of militia to New York, **to
"seize the fort, and to keep oflf popery, French invasion
" and slavery."
The militia force of New York at this time consisted
of five train-bands, of which Nicholas Bayard was
colonel, and Jacob Leisler, senior captain. Of Bayard,
we have already spoken. Jacob Leisler, who became in
this struggle the hero of one of the most eventful epochs
in the history of New York, was one of the oldest
and wealthiest of the ancient Dutch burghers. He emi-
grated from Frankfort to New Amsterdam in the ship
Otter, in the year 1660, as a soldier in the service of the
West India Company. Soon after his arrival, he married
Elsje Loockermans, widow of Cornelius Vanderveer, and
thus became uncle of Stephanus Van Cortlandt and
Nicholas Bayard, the foes who afterwards brought him
to the scaflFold. He engaged at once in commerce, and
soon became one of the leading shipping merchants of
the city. On the cession of the city to the English, he
took oaths of allegiance to the new government, and was
among those who contributed, in 1692, towards the
repairs of Fort James. Two years after, he was
appointed one of the commissioners for the forced loan
levied by Colve, at which time his property was valued
at fifteen thousand guilders. In 1678, on a voyage to
Europe, he was taken prisoner by the Turks, and forced
to pay a heavy ransom for his liberty. On his return, in
1683, he received the appointment of Commissioner of
the Admiralty from Governor Dongan. He had two chil-
dren, Jacob and Mary, the latter of whom married Jacob
Milborne, the companion of her father's prosperity and
222 HISTORY OF THE
misfortunes, and, after his death, Abraham Gouvemeur ;
his eon grew up to vindicate his father's memory, and
to wring a tardy justice from the hands of his judges.
He waa well known as a zealous opponent of the CathoHc
faith. In Albany, in 1676, he had been imprisoned by
Audros for his opposition to Rensselaer, an Episcopal
clergyman and suspected Papist, who had been sent to
the province by the Duke of York, and had thus won
the confidence of the Protestant party, who in this emer-
gency, naturally chose him as their leader.
The public money, amounting to £773 125., had been
deposited for safe keeping in the fort, which was gar-
risoned by a few soldiers, under the command of a
Catholic ensign. Anxious to secure the control of this
treasure, the citizens assembled on the 2d of June, 1689,
and marching in a body to the house of Leisler, requested
him to lead them to the seizure of the fort ; then, upon
his refusal, proceeded thither, headed by Ensign Stoll,
and entered the fortress without resistance. On learn-
ing of this capture, Leisler repaired to the fort with
forty-seven men, where he was welcomed by the citizens
and acknowledged their leader.
The people were now openly di\'ided into two parties
— the democratic and aristocratic, — ^the Leislerian and
auti-Leislerian, The former met together, and chose a
Committee of Safety, consisting of Richard Denton,
Samuel Edsall, Theunis Roelofse, Pieter Delanoy, Jean
Marest, Mathias Harvey, Daniel Le Klercke, Johannes
Vermilye, Thomas Williams and Wilham Lawrence, for
the immediate government of the province. This com-
mittee appointed Jacob Leisler captain of the fort, with
V
CITY OF NEW YORK. - 223
full power to preserve the peace and to suppress any
rebellion until the arrival of instructions from England.
In the meantime, the city militia had joined the popu-
lar party, and it was agreed that the fort should be held
by each of the five train-bands in turn. On the evening
of the capture, it was resigned by Leisler to Captain
Lodowick and his company. The next morning, a rumor
was circulated that three ships were coming up the bay,
upon which the train-bands hastily assembled in the forty
where the five captains and four hundred men, togetlier
with seventy volunteers from Westchester, signed an
agreement to hold the fort for William and Mary.
Nicholson and his party, meanwhile, had not been
idle. No sooner had Leisler entered the fort than, hastily
calling together the city oflScials, they resolved them-
selves into a convention in opposition to the Committee
of Safety, and resolved to take measures to countenict
the revolutionists. Thinking the public money unsafe in
the fort, they determined to remove it to the house of
Frederick Philipse ; but Leisler refused to deliver it to
their order. They next made an eflfort to secure the
custom-house revenues. The people had already refused
payment of duties to the collector, Matthias Plowman,
under the pretext that he was a Catholic. Nicholson
now dispatched Nicholas Bayard and three others to take
his place. On arriving at the custom-house, they found
it guarded by militia. The Committee of Safety liad
already appointed their own collector, and armed men
were sent on board all vessels arriving in port.
Foiled in this quarter, Colonel Bayard repaired to the
fort to look after his refractory train-bands. He found
224 HISTORY OF THB
them assembled on the Bowling Green, and ordered
them to disperse. They refused to obey. Unable to
enforce his commands, he returned to the City Hall at
Coenties Slip, where Nicholson had assembled the rest
of the council. It was not long before Captain Lodo-
wick, the captain of the day, came to demand the sur-
render of the keys of the fort. Nicholson, finding
that the militia had declared against him, and that
resistance would be in vain, reluctantly resigned them ;
and hastily breaking up his council, fled to a ship in the
harbor, and set sail for England, leaving the government
in the hands of Leisler and his party. Bayard took
refuge at Albany with Colonel Peter Schuyler,* the
mayor of that city, who also refused to acknowledge
the supremacy of Leisler. Van Cortlandt, who still
claimed to act as mayor, remained in New York.
On the 16th of August, the Committee of Safety
authorized Leisler to act as commander-in-chief of the
province until further instructions should arrive from
England. The neighboring colonies did not delay to
recognize his authority. Massachusetts approved his
conduct, and the General Court of Connecticut dis-
patched two deputies to congratulate him upon his suc-
cess, and to promise him assistance if necessary. These
deputies brought news of the proclamation of the new
sovereigns in England, upon which Leisler immediately
ordered them to be proclaimed at the sound of the
trumpet at the fort and the City Hall. He then went
energetically to work to restore order to public affairs.
* See Appendix, Note I.
I
CITY OP NEW YORK. 225
Knowing that the French court had espoused the cause
of the deposed king, and that a war with France must
ensue, he set about repairing the fortifications and
providing for the puolic safety. He stockaded the fort
and erected a battery of seven guns to the west of it,
strengthened the fortifications on the land side, and
placed a garrison of fifty men in the fort, besides a com-
pany of militia that mounted guard every night, after
which he dispatched a private letter to the king, relating
the particulars of the seizure of the fort, and accounting
for the expenditure of the public money, the most of
which had been swallowed up in the repairs.
On the 29th of September, 1689, by order of the
Committee of Safety, the people assembled in their
wards and elected their aldermen and councilmen, and
for the first time, their mayor also. Pieter Delanoy was
chosen mayor, Johannes Johnson, sherifif, and Abraham
Gouverneur, clerk. Mr. Delanoy was a native born Hol-
lander, who had emigrated to New Amsterdam in the
days of Stuyvesant, and engaged in trade with signal
success. He was warmly attached to the popular party,
and clung faithfully to it through its changing fortunes.
On the 14th of October, 1689, he was proclaimed mayor
by Leisler, and on the same day he took the oaths of
office, together with the Common Council, at the City
Hall at Coenties Slip, now in the possession of the popu-
lar party.
The city was emphatically divided against itself.
Each party had its mayor and common council, who
claimed to administer the city affairs, and each met
and transacted the business of the city, wholly ignoring
15
226 HISTORY OF THE
the existence of the other. Delanoy, ou one side, had
possession of the City Hall ; Van Cortlandt, on the other,
held the charter, books, seals and papers. The newly-
elected mayor sent to demand the latter, but without
avail, and so the matter rested.
The election increased instead of allaying the popular
agitation, and Bayard, still at Albany, fomented it by
every means in his power. On the 20th of October, he
addressed a letter to the militia, declaring that Jacob
Leisler and his associates had illegally invaded their
majesties^ fort and subverted all lawful authority, and
commanding the train-bands as their colonel to refuse
all aid to these usurpers, and to continue to obey the
civil government established by Sir Edmund Andros,
which was still in full force, and was the only legal
authority. This letter was productive of no effect. The
soldiers and the majority of the citizens continued faith-
ful to Leisler. Long Island, Westchester and Orange
Counties also recognized his authority, but the Albanians
continued to regard him as a usurper, and to obey the
authorities established by the late monarchy.
In the meantime, war had broken out on the frontier.
France, espousing the cause of the exiled king, had
declared war against England, and the French in the Can-
adas, with their Indian allies, the Hurons, threatened the
little settlements that had sprung up along the northern
frontier with speedy destruction. Terrified at the dan-
ger, the Albanians resolved to seek assistance from New
York ; and in September, a convention of the civil
authorities dispatched a messenger to Leisler to entreat
him to furnish them with men, ammunition and money.
I
CITY OF NEW YORK. 227
Leisler made no reply to the convention, who held their
commissions from James II. fle sent some powder and
guns to the military ofl&cers, but refused them any sol-
diers, on account of some alleged slight which his people
had received in Albany ; and urged the Albanians
to send deputies to New York to consult with him for
the public good. This they refused to do, and asked
assistance from Connecticut, which two months after,
sent them eighty-seven men.
About the same time, Leisler dispatched his son-in-law
and secretary, Milborne, who had arrived from England
the preceding summer, with a force of fifty men to their
aid : but the Albanians, suspecting that this expedition
was covertly designed to gain possession of the fort and
overthrow the existing government, determined that they
should not be permitted to take command in the city.
The force, indeed, was too small for any such purpose,
but Milborne doubtless entertained the design, and relied
on the aid which he might receive from the citizens.
The latter, however, were averse to a change, and, yield-
ing to the persuasions of their officers, had already
pledged themselves at a public meeting to maintain the
present authorities. The troops, on their arrival, were
not suffered to land, but Milborne was invited to come
alone into the city. He repaired to the City Hall, and
at once commenced to harangue the people, telling them
thaf their present charter was null and vgid, and urging
them to depose their officers and choose new ones in
their stead, as they now had a right to govern themselves.
He also declared that he was authorized by the Commit-
tee of Safety of the province to administer affairs at
228 HISTORY OF THE
Albany ; and, by virtue of this authority, he demanded
that an account should be furnished him of the arras and
stores in the fort, and that an election should be held for
both civil and military officers. The convention refused
to acknowledge his commission, and forbade him to come
within the gates of the city unless he would consent to
submit to their authority. He next attempted to force
an enti^ance, when the guns of the fort were turned upon
liim, and seeing that, with his small force, he could effect
nothing, he wisely determined to return to New York.
In the month of December, a packet arrived from Eng-
land^ addressed to Francis Nicholson, or to those who,
for the time being, administered the government in the
province of New York. This packet contained a com-
mission empowering the person who was then at the head
of the goveniment to appoint a council and to act as lieu-
tenant-governor until further orders. Hearing of the
arrival of this precious document, Nicholas Bayard came
secretly to New York, and seeking out Riggs, the bearer
of the packet, endeavored to persuade him that Leisler
was a usurper^ and that it rightfully belonged to himself
and Pbilipse as members of the late council. His argu-
ments failed to satisfy Riggs, who, finding that Leisler
had been conducting the government for nearly seven
months with the consent of the people and in behalf of
William and Mary, delivered the papers to him as their
rightful possessor. Leisler showed them to the Com-
mittee of Safety, and, by their advice, assumed the title
of lieutenant-governor, and appointed a council of eight
persons to assist him in administering the government.
This council consisted of Pieter Delanoy, Samuel Staats,
t
CITY OF NEW YORK. 229
Hendrick Jansen, Johannes Vermilye, Gerardus Beek-
man, Samuel Edsall, Thomas Williams and WilUam
Lawrence.
Thinking himself now the legal governor of the pro-
vince and sm-e of his position, Leisler resolved to
restore order by energetic measures. The party of his
enemies was constantly increasing. His fellow-citiacns
were jealous of his sudden elevation, and the leaders of
the aristocratic faction used every effort to foment this
feeling, and to stir them up to open rebellion. They
even raised a street riot, from which he narrowly escaped
with his life. The drums were beat and the military
called out, and for a few minutes the result of tlie
struggle seemed doubtful. The riot was finally quelled,
several of the combatants were thrown into prison, and
warrants were issued for the arrest of Bayard, Van Curt-
landt and several others who had been implicated in tlie
affair. Van Cortlandt escaped, but Bayard and William
Nichols were arrested and imprisoned in the cells at the
City Hall, which then served also as the city prison, and
a court was summoned to try them for treason. Terrified
at his danger. Bayard sent a submissive petition to the
governor, acknowledging his errors, and entreating par-
don in the humblest terms. His supplication stayed tlie
proceedings and saved him from death, although it did
not obtain his release. He remained in prison fourteen
mofiths until the arrival of Governor Sloughter, then
emerged to wreak a terrible vengeance upon his jailer.
Meanwhile, his party did not slacken their zeal, but
stirred up a powerful opposition to Leisler.
A new event occurred to attract the public notice
230 TT r S T 0 11 Y OF THE
The frontier warfare still continued, with its scenes of
savage barbarity. In February, 1690, it reached its
cUmax. A^party of French and Indians fell at midnight
upon the little village of Schenectady, and transformed
the peaceful settlement into a scene of ruin. Men,
women and children were shot, scalped or carried into
captivity ; the village was plundered and set on fire, and
but one house escaped the general conflagration. A few
escaped half-naked through the snow to carry the news
to their neighbors at Albany.
This fearful catastrophe opened the eyes of the Alban-
ians to their folly in rejecting the aid of New York at a
time when union was so much needed, and in wasting
their time in disputing the legality of commissions which
would so soon be settled by direct instructions from
England. The most natural conclusion in the existing
state of affairs was, certainly, that when the authority
of James II. ceased, the authority of his officers ceased
also, and the government reverted to the people until
farther instruction b should be received from the new
powers. Such was the interpretation of the mass of the
people. But the officials who had been commissioned by
the late government naturally availed themselves of every
quibble whereby to retain their powers, and being rich
in means, though poor in numbers, they were, at least,
partially successful. It was a combat between the aris-
tocrats and the people. In New York, the democracy
triumphed ; in Albany, the aristocracy. Leisler, who
BOW considered himself lieutenant-governor, by virtue of
the royal commission, again sent Milborne with a strong
body of troops to force Albany to submit to his authority.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 231
The citizens, terrified at the massacre of Schenectady, no
longer attempted resistance, but quietly surrendered the
fort into his hands.
Having thus succeeded in gaining control of the pro-
vince, Leisler summoned a convention of delegates from
Massachusetts and Connecticut to meet him at New York
to consult together on the common danger. This con-
vention assembled on the 1st of May, 1690, and deter-
mined to fit out an expedition against the Canadas.
Leisler promised to join with Connecticut in dispatching
a force of nine hundred men to attack Montreal, while
Massachusetts pledged herself to send a fleet and an
army against Quebec. The expeditions were immediately
fitted out, but both proved signally unsuccessful.
The enemies of Leisler, in the meantime, had used
every effort to asperse his motives and actions to the king.
Though he had always administered the government in
the name of William and Mary, he was represented as
in a state of actual rebellion, and denounced to the
English court as a hypocrite and arch-traitor. Much of
this calumny was due to Francis Nicholson, who had
been received with favor on his return, and who had
avenged himself on Leisler for his forcible expulsion
from the government by intriguing against him in the
English court. Immediately upon his accession to the
government, Leisler. had dispatched a memorial and pri-
vate letter to the king, informing him of the whole affair ;
but these papers, written in imperfect English — a
language which Leisler both wrote and spoke badly —
were wrongly construed. Nicholson did not cease • to
represent Leisler to the king as an ambitiouS usurper,
232 HISTORY OF THE
who had acted from aversion to the Church of England
and with an eye to his own private interests, rather than
from any devotion to the Prince of Orange. Misled by
these reports, the king made no reply to Leisler, although
he returned thanks to the colonies for their fideUty ; and
soon after appointed Henry Sloughter governor of New
York. This was a most injudicious choice. It is true
that the appointment of a new governor was needed to
restore harmony among the contending factions, but a
worse one than Sloughter could hardly have been found.
According to the admission of one of the king's own
ofl&cers, he was ** licentious, avaricious and poor," — ^a
broken-down adventurer who came to repair his wasted
fortimes from the revenues of the ofl&ce without thought
or care for the welfare of his subjects. But the enemies
of Leisler rejoiced at the appointment. They felt them-
selves sure of the new governor, whose necessities would
bind him to the wealthiest party, and saw that the star
of their adversary was near its setting.
In 1690, Governor Sloughter set sail from England
with several ships and a considerable body of troops.
By some accident, the vessels parted company, and the
first ship that arrived was the Beaver, commanded by
Major Richard Ingoldsby, who had received the appoint-
ment of lieutenant-governor. The Beaver arrived in
January, 1691. Ingoldsby at once announced the appoint-
ment of Sloughter, and in his name demanded that the
fort should be surrendered to him for the accommodation
of his soldiers. Leisler, in reply, offered quarters for his
men, but refused to surrender the fort into his hands until
be had first produced the royal commission. This was
\ , J
CITY OF NEW YORK, 233
impossible ; the papers were in the hands of Slougliter,
and Ingoldsby had no credentials whatever in his posses-
sion. Under these circumstances, it was but natural for
Leisler to refuse his demands ; but, urged on by the oppo-
site party, he issued a proclamation, calling on the people
and magistrates to aid him in enforcing the ru)al commis-
sion, and branding all as traitors who refused to obey-
Leisler, in turn, replied by another proclamation, protest-
ing against his proceedings, and warning him, at his peril,
not to attempt any hostility against the fort or city-
Ingoldsby immediately landed his soldiers, and pro-
ceeded to blockade the fort by land and sea, while
Leisler gathered his friends about him, and prepared
for future action. For seven weeks the city Avas thus
blockaded. During this time, the conduct of Leisler
seems to have been prudent and courteous, A shot was
fired at Ingoldsby's troops as they were returning one
night to their ship — he used every effort to detect the
offender. He ordered the soldiers to be quartered in the
City Hall and entreated the citizens not to malost them.
While he steadfastly refused to deliver the fort to
Ingoldsby until he should produce a royal commission,
he constantly spoke of him in respectful terms, and
declared his entire willingness to surrender the fort to
any one authorized to receive it. Ingoldsby, on his side,
who was wholly under the empire of the anti-Leislerian
party, spared no pains to annoy and irritate the gov-
ernor. He paraded his soldiers about the fort, shut out
supplies, interrupted the mayor and common council
while engaged in the discharge of their duties, and
endeavored by a thousand petty annoyances to provoke
234 HISTORY OF THE
Leisler to open combat. His efforts were unavailing ;
the governor intrenched himself in the fort and patiently
awaited the coming of Sloughter to free him from all
perplexities. He little dreamed of the manner in which
this would be accomplished.
On the 19th of March, 1691, the vessel of Slougliicr
entered the harbor, Philipse, Van Cortlandt, and others
of their party, hastened on board, and, greeting him with
the wiinuGsl protestations of fidelity, escorted him to the
City Hall, where he published his commission and took
the oaths of ofTK-e at eleven o'clock at night. Without
heeding the lateness of the hour, he immediately dis-
patched lugulikby with a party of soldiers to take pos-
session of the fort. Leisler, who did not know Sloughter,
and who j^usijccted some snare, instead of surrendering
the fort in obedience to the order, sent a letter, written in
broken English, by Ensign StoU, to the governor, charg-
ing StuU, who had seen Sloughter in Europe, to look at
him well, and be sure that he was no counterfeit, got up
for the occasion- Sloughter, who suspected something
of this, informed StoU that he intended to make himself
known in New York as well as in England, and ordered
Major Ingoldsby to go a second time to take possession of
the fort, and at the same time, to release Colonel Bayard
and Mr. Nichols from their imprisonment to attend his
majesty^s service, they having been appointed members
of the council. He also ordered Leisler, Milborne, and
the others '* who called themselves the council," to come
to him at once, without loss of time. Leisler refused
either to surrender the fort or to release the prisoners, but
sent Milborne and Delanoy to make terms with the
1
CITY OF NEW YORK. 235
governor, and to endeavor to procure some security for
his own safety, which he felt was in imminent danger.
Sloughter at once imprisoned the envoys, and sent
Ingoldsby a third time to take possession of the fort,
which Leisler again refused to him.
Early the next morning, Leisler sent a letter to the
governor, surrendering the fort, and apologizing for hold-
ing it after his arrival. That he had done so, was unwise,
but certainly not indicative of treasonable designs. He
had hoped to retain possession of it, that he might in
some degree counteract the influence of his enemies by
a personal surrender. He well knew that to yield it to
Ingoldsby would be to place his life in the power of the
opposite faction ; but the delay by which he sought to
escape was made the most effectual instrument of his
ruin.
No notice whatever was taken of the letter. Sloughter
and his friends met at the City Hall, where a coimcil was
sworn in, consisting of Joseph Dudley, Frederick Phil-
ipse, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Gabriel Minvielle, Chud-
ley Brooke, Thomas Willett, William Pinhorne and
William Nichols — all sworn foes of Leisler. This done,
twenty-nine papers from the English government rela-
tive to Leisler, which had been first sent to England from
Albany^ were dehvered to the secretary, and Jacob Leis-
ler was brought in a prisoner. The king's letter, from
which he claimed to derive his authority, was taken from
him, and he was committed to the guard-house with
eleven of his adherents. At the same meeting, the gov-
ernor appointed John Lawrence mayor of the city.
Leisler and his companions remained in the guard-
236 HISTORY OF THE
house until the 23d of March, when the governor and
council met at the fort, and appointed a committee to
examine them with a view to their removal to the city
prison. The next day the council met again, and organ-
ized a special court of eight members for the trial of the
prisoners. Sir Robert Robertson, William Smith, Wil-
liam Pinhorne, John Lawrence, Jasper Hicks, Richard
Ingoldsby, Isaac Arnold and John Young were ap-
pointed judges by the governor, for the trial of the
prisoners on a charge of murder and rebellion.
On the 30th of March, the court met for the trial of
the prisoners. Leisler refused to plead, alleging that the
court had no jurisdiction in the case, but that it belonged
to his majesty himself to declare whether he had acted
under legal authority, and insisting that the letter
addressed to Nicholson, or, in his absence, to the chiefs
of the government, had entitled him to act as lieutenant-
governor. The pliant judges, instead of deciding the
question, submitted it to the opinion of the governor and
council. They decided in the negative ; Leisler was pro-
nounced a usurper, and, on the 13th of April, both he and
Milborne were condemned to death as rebels and traitors.
Notwithstanding the prejudices of Sloughter against
Leisler, he feared to risk the displeasure of the king by
summarily putting to death the man who had first raised
his standard in New York, and who had constantly
profeesed to act under his authority. He hesitated,
talked of a reprieve, and flatly refused to sign his death-
warraiit until it had first received the sanction of the king.
But the enemies of Leisler were thirsting for his blood.
Bayard, embittered by liis long imprisonment, burned for
I
CITY OF NEW YORK. 237
revenge, and Nichols and Van Cortlandt were not slow
to second him. On the 14th of May, the council met
and urged the governor to carry the sentence into execu-
tion. The next day, the petition was seconded by the
new assembly, the speaker of which was a declared
enemy of Leisler. But Sloughter still hesitated, and the
council determined to gain by stratagem what they could
not by entreaty. Knowing the weakness of the governor,
they invited him to a feast ; then, when he was overcome
with wine, cajoled him into signing the death-warrant.
The fatal signature once procured, they dared not
await the possibility of its revocation. An oflBcer stole
with it from the scene of festivity to the city prison, and
ordered the victims to be led out for immediate execu-
tion. The council, meanwhile, plied the governor with
wine, and amused him into forgetfulness of the fate of
the prisoners.
In the midst of a cold and drizzling spring rain, Leigler
and Milbome were led out for execution. The scaiFold
was erected in the square at the lower end of the Park,
on his own grounds, in full view of his country-seat
The weeping people thronged about him, execrating
those who had deprived them of their leader. A few
members of the council stole from the scene of revelry,
and came to witness the consummation of their vengeance.
Leisler's dying speech was full of humility and forgive-
ness. ** Why must you die?" said he to -Milbome. ** You
'*have been but a servant, doing my will. What I have
** done has been but in the service of my king and queen,
**for the Protestant cause, and for the good of my coun-
\^ " try ; and for this I must die. Some errors I have
\
\
238 HISTORY OF THE
''committed; for these I ask pardon. I forgive my
** enemies as I hope to be forgiven, and I entreat my
"children to do the same." Not so humble was the
youthful Milborne. Turning to Robert Livingston,*
who had stationed himself near the scaffold, he said
to him fiercely: **You have caused my death, but for
** this will I implead you before the bar of God." — The
drop fell ; the populace rushed forth with shrieks and
groans to snatch some rehc of their martyred leader, and
the last act was ended of one of the most eventful
dramas ever enacted within the city of New York. The
bodies were taken down, and interred, by Leisler's own
request, in his garden near the site of Tammany Hall.
Thus perished the last Dutch governor of New York.
Leisler was truly a martyr of the people. They had
chosen him to stand at their head and to aid them in
preserving their civil and religious liberty when left with-
out a ruler and in danger of falling a prey to a clique of
ambitious men. Under their authority he acted until
it was, as he thought, confirmed by the king. On the
arrival of the new governor, he surrendered the fort on
the day that the council was sworn in ; and they had no
right to demand it before. Yet he was immediately
. arrested without a hearing, thrown into prison like a
common malefactor, and sentenced to death, not by the
judgment of the court that had been appointed for his
trial J but by the decision of a council composed of his
bitterest enemies. But it was the people instead- of
Leisler who were struck at, in truth. It was then, as
• See Appendix, Note J.
CITY OF NEW YORK, 239
later, the policy of the English goveniment to crush
every symptom of popular liberty in her colonies, and
to rule them with a rod of iron. Jacob Leisler and
Jacob Milborne were the first victims in the cause of
freedom, and the pioneers of the long train that fol-
lowed on the fields of the Revolution more than a
century after.
Four years afterwards, the son of Jacob Leisler did
justice to the memory of his father by prosecuting the
appeal which had been denied him. On the 11th of
March, 1695, the Lords Commissioners of Trade, to
whom it had been referred, decided that the deceased
had been condemned and executed according to law, but
that their families were fit objects of royal compassion,
and ordered the confiscated estates to be restored. But
this did not satisfy the friends of the victims, who
appealed from this (fecision to Parhament, and by
the aid of powerful influence, obtained the same year
a reversal of the attainder. This act stated explicitly
that Leisler had been appointed commander-in-chief
until their majesties' pleasure should be further known ;
that he was afterwards confirmed in his authority by
their majesties' letter, dated July 30, 1689 ; that, while
he held this power, by virtue of said authority, Major
Ingoldsby had arrived in January and demanded the
surrender of the fort without producing any legal
authority ; that Leisler, pursuant to the trust reposed
in him, kept possession of the fort until the following
March, when Henry Sloughter arrived late in the even-
ing ; that Leisler, having received notice of his com-
ing, delivered the fort to him early the next morning ;
240 HISTORY OP THB
and consequently, that all acts, judgments and attainders
were declared reversed by the decision of parliament
Three years after, the bodies of Leisler and Milborne
were disinterred and reburied with great ceremony in the
old Dutch church in Garden street.
Sloughter was now firmly established as governor, and
affairs began to assmne a settled aspect. But the rancor
of the late struggle did not soon die out, and for the
next quarter of a century, the supremacy of the city
was warmly contested by the Leislerians and anti-Leis-
lerians. The parties transmitted the feud to their children,
and the vestiges of it are even now to be found among the
descendants of these early colonists.
As may readily be inferred from preceding events, the
first Assembly that met under the new administration
was wholly devoted to the interests of the governor.
The laws which they framed, and which came to be
recognized as the first acknowledged code in the province,
were molded to suit his interests, and to make him
wholly independent of the people, by granting him a
permanent revenue, together with the sole right of issu-
ing warrants for moneys from the public treasury. The
Charter of Liberties, which had been granted by the
Duke of York in Dongan's administration, was declared
null and void. The single popular law passed by them,
declaring that it was the people's right instead of privilege
to be represented in general assembly was vetoed by the
king. The old Court of Assizes was abolished, and a
Supreme Court, consisting of five judges, instituted in its
stead. Of this, Dudley was made chief-justice with a
salary of a hundred and thirty pounds, and Johnson,
L
CITY OF NEW YORK. 241
Smith, Van Cortlandt, and Pinhorne were appointed his
associates.
In 1691, Abraham De Peyster, captain of one of the
train-bands, and a friend of Leisler, was appointed to the
mayoralty. Mr. De Peyster had taken an active part on
the side of the people in the late agitation, and his ap-
pointment was well calculated to meet their favor. He
held the ofl&ce for three years, after which he received
the appointment of treasurer which he held until his
death in 1721.
Comparative tranquillity being now restored, the citi-
zens began to turn their attention to public improvements.
Water street was extended from Old Slip to Fulton street,
and Pine, Cedar, and the neighboring streets were laid
out through the old Damen farm. Two markets for meat
were established, the one in Broadway, opposite the fort,
and the other at Coenties Slip ; and no cattle were per-
mitted to be slaughtered within the city gates.
The city determined to assume the support of the
public paupers, and each alderman was ordered to make
a return of the poor in his ward. Several were soon
recommended as objects of charity, to whom a pittance
was granted from the public treasury, no house being as
yet provided for their reception. The poisonous weeds,
stramonium and others, that grew in such abundance on
the island, were ordered to be rooted up from the high-
ways, and every citizen was directed to keep the street
clean before his door
In the same year, it was decided to build another
church up-town, and the oflBcers of the church of St.
Nicholas purchtised a building-lot in Garden street, now
16
242
HISTORY OF
o t?
Exchange place, 125 feet front hy 180 feet rear, lor
which they paid a hui.Jred and eigiity pieces of eight,
ou ivhieh a church was soon after erected.
Many other municipal regulatioiiB, concermng huck-
sters, bakers, butchers and otherawere established, which
were then esteemed of vital importance, but the mhiutiio
of which would now be wearisome to the general reader.
A single item we must notice as conveying an idea of
the punishments practised hi olden times. A pillory,
cage, whipping-post, and ducking-stool were set up in
tlie vicinity of the City Hall, and hither were brought
aU vagrants, slanderers, pilferers, and truant children to
be exposed for public show, or to receive such eeverer
chastisement as their offencee might warrant.
BeElJence of X. W. SaiyiBsiax.
CITY OF NEW YORK
243
Old Dntch Church in Gtuaea o. ..*... ^4c^.,ca in 1696.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 245
On the 23d of July, 1691, Sloughter died suddenly.
So hostile was the spirit of the times and so bitter
the animosities that existed against him, that it was at
first asserted that he had been poisoned by the Leisle-
rianSy but this charge was disproved by a post mortem
examination. His remains were deposited in the Stuy-
vesant vault, next to those of the old Dutch governor,
The charge of aflFairs devolved upon Major Ingoldsby
and Dudley, \o whom it belonged of right, being absent
in Cura^oa.
CHAPTER VIII.
16W— 1702.
A.diiiiul9tration of Fletcher— Progress of the City— Piratical Depredationa— Lord
Bellamont Governor. •
On the 29th of August, 1692, Benjamin Fletcher, ' the
newly-appointed governor, arrived at New York. He
was also invested with the government of Pennsylvania
and Delaware, of which Penn had recently been deprived
by reason of suspicions of his loyalty, and was commis-
sioned to command the militia of Connecticut and New
Jersey — a duty which he found it somewhat difficult to
perform. The frontier warfare still continued, and New
York, who, from her geographical position, became the
English bulwark against the French in the Canadas, had
petitioned that the other colonies should contribute to
her defence. The request was granted, and Fletcher
came instructed to require the southern and eastern pro-
vinces to furnish their quota of men and money towards
carrying on the war. The order was grumblingly
received ; the Quakers excused themselves under pretext
of conscientious scruples, but finally voted a small sum
on condition that it should not be used for the war ; Vir-
gii'ia raised five hundred pounds as the extent of her
2 6
i/
CITT OF NEW YORK. 247
resources ; Maryland furnished a small sum under pro-
test, Connecticut sent no money under plea of an empty
treasury, but promised to supply volunteers when
needed, and Massachusetts flatly refused to furnish either,
alleging that she had her own frontier to defend. The
whole burden of the war was thus thrown upon New
York, despite her exhausted treasury, and her population,
decimated by the tragedies lately enacted on the frontier.
The new governor was despotic, passionate, avaricious
and fenatical withal, it being his darling project to make
the Church of England the established church of the land.
He at once attached himself to the anti-Leislerians,
and continued a sworn friend to them during his admin-
istration. He retained the council of his predecessor
with the exception of Joseph Dudley and William Pin-
horue, who were replaced by Caleb Heathcote and John
Young. Dudley was also superseded in the chief-justice-
ship by William Smith. He returned at once to England.
when he obtained the governorship of the Isle of Wight.
On the arrival of the new governor, the mayor and
corporation of the city met and appropriated twenty
pounds from the public treasury towards a public dinner
in his honor. This was a politic movement on their part ;
they were anxious to dispose him fevorably towards a
petition which they had to offer. Vigorous efforts were
being made by the towns outside to break up the mono-
poly of bolting flour and making bread for exportation,
which had been granted to the city several years before,
and which had grown to be so valuable a privilege. The
numerous laws that had been passed to prevent its
infringement had proved imavailing, and the citizens
248 HISTORY OF THE
hoped to obtain the concurrence of the governor iii
securing this right exclusively to the city. The dinner
was followed by an address entreating the governor to
petition to their majesties for a confirmation of the
city charter, and for the continuation of the bolt-
ing and baking monopoly ; and also entreating that
the duties of clerk of the market, water-bailiJBF and
coroner might be included in the functions of the
mayoralty.
That nothing might be spared to secure the governor's
assistance in the matter, the city authorities presented
another address to him a few days after, couched in the
most flattering terms, in which they expressed their joy
that so wise and pious a governor should have been set
to rule over them, and entreated him to take the decay-
ing state of .their afflicted city into favorable considera-
tion, and become its benefactor by securing to it that
monopoly without which it must perish. The recorder
was also directed to prepare an address to William and
Mary, thanking them for the blessing which they had con-
ferred on the province by appointing Fletcher the gov-
ernor thereof. Nor did their efforts stop here. On his
return from a subsequent voyage to Albany whither he
had gone to direct matters in respect to the frontier war-
fare, the mayor and corporation appropriated one hun-
dred pounds for the purchase of a gold cup, to be presented
to him in testimony of their joy at his safe arrival. They
let slip no opportunity to load him with fulsome compli-
ments, and to testify to their approbation of all his
acts. But this servility availed them nothing j in the
autumn of 1696, the bolting-act was repealed by the
1
CITY OF NEW YORK. 249
Assembly, and the commerce in bread and flour thrown
open to all competitors.
News having been received of a projected French
invasion, it was determined, soon after Fletcher's arrival,
to erect a new hne of fortifications across the island in
the place of those now in ruins, and a himdred pounds
were appropriated for the purpose by the corporation.
All Indians and negroes who were not already engaged
in military service were ordered to assist in the work,
and the citizens generally were directed to give it all the
assistance in their power. It was also determined to
erect a battery upon a platform laid upon the point of
rocks under the fort, so as to command both rivers ;
and the filling in of the present Battery was also com-
menced. Orders were given to see that the guns of
the fort were mounted and fit for use, and that there was
a sufficiency of ammunition.
In 1693, William Bradford, the Philadelphia printer,
having become involved in difficulties in consequence of
his connection with George Keith, who had attempted to
produce a revolution in Quakerism, removed to New
York, and established the first printing press in the city.
He was at first employed by the city authorities to print
the corporation laws, and a few years after estab-
lished a newspaper, which proved a successful specu-
lation.*
* Hew York was the third of the Anglo-American colonies in which printing was
introduced— Massachusetts and Pennsjlvania preceding it. The first thing printed
in this dty was a small folio yolume of the laws of the colony, executed by Brad-
ford in the first year of his arriral. The next of which we haye any account was a
small 24mo. volume of 61 pages, entitled, " A Letter of Advice to a Young Gentle-
man leaving the University, concerning his Behavior and Conversation in the World,
250 HISTORY OP THE
In 1694, Charles Lodowick, whom we have abeady
seen as captain of the tram-bands in the aflfair of Leisler,
was appointed mayor. Mr. Lodowick was a prominent
merchant, the son of one of the early traders in the city.
He retained the office for but one year, after which he
received the appointment of lieutenant-colonel of the
province. He subsequently removed to England, where
he died.
The chief aim of Fletcher, next to his personal aggran-
dizement, was the introduction into the province of the
English church and the English language. This was
contrary to the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants,
who still spoke the Dutch language and adhered to the
Dutch church, which they regarded as the established
church of the province. This church was attached to
the Classis of Amsterdam, which was made a pretext by
Fletcher for substituting the Church of England in its
stead. The first Assembly that convened after his arri-
val, though they approved his conduct, and supplied him
liberally with money for the defence of the frontiers,
refused to listen to his intimations on this head. The
next Assembly, which convened in the September of
1693, proved more compliant Besides granting him a
permanent revenue for five years and giving him control
of the treasury, they passed an act providing for the
by R. L. Printed and sold by W. Bradford, Printer to His Miy'esty, King WilUam,
at the Bible in New Tork, 1696." A copy of this rare work was quite recently sold
at Uie auction sale of the library of the late E. B. Oorwin, for the low sum of
$12 00. On the 16ih of October, 1726, the first newspaper in the city of New
York was issued by Bradford, with the following heading: **Nbw Tohk GAirm.
From Monday, Oct 16th, to Oct 28d, 1126.'" The paper was issued weekly, and
was printed on a small fo<^8cap sheet
CITY OP NEW YORK. 251
building of a church in the city of New York, another in
Richmond, two in Westchester, and two in Suffolk, in
each of which was to be settled a Protestant minister on
a salary of from forty to a hundred pounds, to be paid
by a tax levied on the inhabitants. This was less than
the governor desired — ^he returned the act, which had
been sent to him for approval, with an amendment
granting him the power of inducting every incumbent,
which the Assembly refused to pass. Upon this he
called them before him, and angrily broke up the session,
telling them that he would let them know that he would
collate or suspend any minister that he chose, and that,
while he stayed in the government, he should take care
that neither heresy, schism, nor rebellion should be
preached among them. The bill subsequently passed
without the amendment, and the word Protestant being
construed to mean Episcopal all the inhabitants were
compelled to support the Church of England, whatever
might be their religious opinion. In 1696, Trinity
church was begun under the provisions of this act, and
was completed and opened for worship on the 6th of
February of the following year by the Rev. William
Vesey. The church was a small square edifice, with a
very tall spire. A pew in it was appropriated to the
mayor and common council, and a sermon was annually
preached to them on the day of the city election. lu
1703, a cemetery was donated it by the corporation, on
condition that it should ever after be kept neatly fenced,
and that the burial fees should not exceed eighteenpence
for children and three shillings for adults ; and so great
was the immigration into this city of the dead, that, at
252 HISTORY OF THE
the period of the Revolution, its inmates numbered
more than a hundred and sixty thousand. The old
graveyard of the Dutch burghers in Broadway above
Morris street, had, in 1677, been cut up into four build-
ing lots and sold at auction to the highest bidder. In
1703, the King's Farm was granted to the church by
Queen Anne, thus becoming the celebrated Trinity
church property. The church was enlarged in 1735, and
again in 1737, to meet the increasing wants of the con-
gregation, and thus remained until it fell a victim to the
conflagration of 1776, which laid waste the greater por-
tion of the city. It lay in ruins until 1788, when it was
again rebuilt, and consecrated by Bishop Provost in
1791. In 1839, it was again demolished to make room
for the present edifice, which was opened in 1846.
The parish was afterwards made to include St.
George's in Beekman street, erected in 1752 ; St. Paul's
in Broadway, erected in 1766 ; St. John's in Varick
street, erected in" 1807, and Trinity Chapel in Twenty-
fifth street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue,
erected in 1854, all chapels, dependent upon Trinity as
the parish church.
The frontier warfare had continued meanwhile, and
Fletcher's conduct in this had been characterized with
decision and promptness, thanks, in part, to the advice
of Peter Schuyler, who knew the Indians intimately,
and who had advised Fletcher on his arrival to form a
firm league with the Iroquois, who formed a powerful
barrier between the English settlements and the Canadas.
It was the policy of the French government to extemai-
nate these tribes as the greatest obstacle in the way of
CITY OF NEW YORK. 253
their designs, then to seize Albany, and, proceeding
down the river, take possession of New York, and thus
make themselves masters of the province. For this pur-
pose, they dispatched Frontenac with a large army in
1696 to invade the territory of the Iroquois. The expe-
dition proved unsuccessful, and before it could be
renewed, a treaty of peace was concluded at Ryswick
between France and England which definitively put an
end to the war.
The city had long suffered from the rapacity of govern-
ment officials and the reflected horrors of a distant war-
fare ; it had now another scourge to encounter. The
system of privateering, had long been in existence, and
had not only been connived at but openly encouraged by
the European governments, who deemed it an excellent
means of annoying their enemies' commerce without
trouble or expense to themselves. The adventurou?^
privateers, emboldened by their successes, soon ripened
into buccaneers, and, bearing down' upon ships of all
nations, plundered them of their cargoes, then scuttled
and sunk them, that none might escape to tell the tale.
The American coasts were infested by pirates, no vessel
was safe upon the waters, and the ocean commerce was
almost destroyed. New York suffered especially from
these depredations. Her merchant vessels were rifled
and burnt within sight of her shores, and the pirates
even entered her harbors and seized her ships as they
lay at anchor. Complaint to the authorities availed
nothing ; nearly every government official was impli-
cated in the nefarious trade, and it was suspected, almost
with certainty, that Fletcher himself was confederated
254 HISTORY OF THE
with the pirates and a sharer in their booty. The
corsairs boldly entered the ports, sure that their money
would purchase protection, and many of the merchants,
finding legal trade suspended, were tempted to embark in
the traffic and to lend assistance to the successful buc-
caneers.
The interruption to commerce at length grew so alarm-
ing that the English government found it necessary to
interfere in the matter, and to take vigorous measures
for the suppression of piracy. Fletcher, who was
accused on every side of protecting the corsairs, was
recalled, and Lord Bellamont was appointed in his stead;
with instructions to extirpate the pirates from the seas.
He received his appohitment in 1695, — although he did
not enter upon the duties of his office until nearly three
years after — and immediately began to take measures to
follow out his instructions. He first urged the .govern-
ment to fit out an armed force to cruise against the buc-
caneers, but as all the naval force was needed in the war
with Prance, which was not yet ended, the request was
refused. He then organized a stock company, in which
the king himself, the Duke of Shrewsbury, Lord Chan-
cellor Somers, the Earls of Oxford and Romney, Robert
Livingston and several others, became shareholders, for
the purpose of fitting out a privateering expedition
against the pirates. Six thousand pounds were soon
raised for the enterprise. The Adventure Galley, a fine
ship, manned with sixty sailors and thirty guns, was at
once fitted out, and the command of it intrusted to
Captain William Kidd, a New York sea-captain, who
happened to be in London at the time, and who had been
CITY OF NEW YORK. 256
warmly recommended to Bellamont by Robert Living-
ston, and, to stimulate him further in the pursuit of his
prey, one fifth of the proceeds of the expedition was
promised him as his share in the enterprise. Kidd had
previously commanded a privateer in the West Indies,
and had, for some years, been captain of a packet ship,
which plied between New York and London. He was a
resident of the city of New York, where he owned a
house and lot in Liberty street and passed for a worthy
and respectable citizen. In 1691, he had married Sarah
Oort, the widow of one of his fellow captains and a
woman of the highest respectability, by whom he had
one daughter. His house was one of the most com-
modious and best furnished in the city ; he moved among
the best circles of society, and nothing in his pi*evious
conduct or mode of life indicated the terrible career that
followed the fitting out of this fatal expedition.
On taking command of the ship, Kidd immediately
repaired to New York, and, shipping ninety additional
men, sailed for the Indian seas in quest of pirates. The
sequel of his career is already too well known to be
repeated in detail. He succumbed to temptation, joined
the band which he had been sent to destroy, and became
one of the most daring and successful pirates that ever
hoisted the black flag on the seas. His career was short,
embracing only two years, yet, during that time, he plun-
dered scores of ships, amassed countless treasure, and
made his name a terror on the seas and a by-word for
futiu-e generations. Grown daring by his success, he
exchanged his ship for a frigate that he had captured, and,
in 1698, returned to New York. But Bellamont was
256 HISTORY OF THE
now governor, and protection was no longer vouchsafed to
pirates. Passing up Long Island Sound, he landed at
Gardiner's Island and buried a portion of his treasure ;
then, dividing his spoils with his crew, he discharged
them and repaired to Boston, where he quietly took up
his residence under an assumed name. Here he was met
by Bellamont, who at once recognized and arrested him.
He was sent to England for trial, found guilty of piracy,
sentenced to death, and executed on the 12th of May,
1701, His wife and daughter continued to reside in
New York after his death in the strictest seclusion.
Search was made by the authorities for the buried trea-
sure, and a large box of gold, silver, and jewels was
found at the place of deposit on Gardiner's Island.
This inflamed the imagination of the gold-hunters ;
rumors of immense sums buried on Long Island and the
shores of the North River circulated eagerly from
mouth to mouth, and every likely and unlikely locality
was mined in search of the hidden treasure. The faith
has even come down to our own times, and the words
"Kidd's treasure," still suggests to some credulous minds
visions of untold wealth lying almost at their doors,
awaiting the touch of the spade and mattock.
The result of this enterprise caused great excitement
and indignation, both in America and in England, and
Bellamont, Livingston, and even the king himself, were
openly accused of having secretly connived at it and
shared in the spoils. A motion was made in the House
of Commons that all who had been interested in the
adventure should be deprived of their official positions,
and this motion being lost by a large majority, the noble-
CITY OF NEW YORK. • 257
men were impeached and forced to undergo the form of
a trial for their lives ; but the charges against them could
not be sustained and all the accused were honorably
acquitted.
As we have already said, Fletcher continued to admin-
ister the government for more than two years after he
had been superseded by Bellamont. During this time,
various public improvements were made and municipal
ordinances enacted, indicating the growth of the city.
Soon after the departure of Kidd from the port of New
York in 1696 on his piratical expedition, the erection of
Trinity Church as well as that of the new Dutch Church
— ^known to us by tradition as the Old Dutch Church —
in Garden street, was commenced. Both were completed
in the course of the following year. It was also deter-
mined to build a new City Hall, the old ** Stadt-Huys"
at Coenties Slip having become so dilapidated that the
mayor and corporation, finding it impossible to meet
there any longer, had been compelled to remove to the
house of George Reparreck, next door. A consultation
was held aa to the most available means for raising the
necessary funds, and it was decided to sell the old stadt-
huys and grounds, and to mortage the ferry-lease for
fifteen years. It was also resolved that the new hall
should be completed within a twelvemonth, and a com-
mittee was appointed to select a site and make the neces-
sary estimates, but it was not until 1699 that the site at
the junction of Wall and Broad streets was actually
selected, and the old stadt-huys sold at public auction.
This was purchased by a merchant named John Rodman,
together with the grounds and all the appurtenances, with
IT
258 . HISTORY OF THE
The Stajresant Manaioii (tet page 153).
the exception of the bell and royal arms, for the sum of
nine hundred and twenty pounds sterling, the city
reserving the use of it for a jail a month longer. The
first building in the city used for a jail was at the corner
of Dock street and Coenties Slip. The new City Hall
was built in the form of an L, and open in the middle.
The dungeons for criminals were in the cellar. The first
story had two large staircases, and two large and two
small rooms. The middle of the second story was occu-
pied by the coiui; room, with the assembly room on one
side, and the magistrates' room on the other. The
debtors' cells were in the attic.
In 1696, Maiden Lane was regulated, and Captain
Tennis Dekay was permitted to make a cartway through
Nassau street— designated in his petition as ** the street
'* that runs by the pie- woman's, leadmg to the city com-
** mons," — ^receiving the soil in compensation for his
labor. A cartway was also made along Hanover Square,
or " Burger's Path," as it was then called. A contract
CITY OF NEW YORK. 259
was made for cleaning the streets at thirty pounds ster-
ling per annum — a work which had hitherto been done
by the citizens themselves, every man being required to
keep the street clean before his own door.
In 1697, the first attempt at lighting the streets was
made. This was done by hanging out a lantern and
candle upon the end of a pole from the window of every
seventh house, on the nights when there was no moon ;
the expense being divided equally among the seven
houses. The first regular night watch, consisting of four
men, was established during the same year.
Two persons in each ward were also appointed by the
corporation to inspect every chimney and hearth once a
week, the better to secure the city against fire. At this
time the city numbered six hundred houses, and about
six thousand inhabitants.
Great scarcity of bread prevailed in the city during this
year. None was to be had of the bakers, who declared
that it was impossible to purchase flour at rates reasonable
enough to supply their customers at the prices fixed by
law. The matter was taken into public consideration,
and a census ordered to be taken of all the wheat, flour
and bread then within the city. Seven thousand bushels
of wheat were foimd — ^not more than a week's provision
for the six thousand inhabitants. The scarcity was at
once attributed to the repeal of the bolting act, which
had enabled the planters to grind their own flour and to
hold it back from the general market for private specu-
lation, and an address was at once forwarded to the
king, complaining of the famine to which the city was
reduced, and earnestly entreating him to restore the
260 HISTORY OF THE
monopoly. Meanwhile an assize of rye bread was estab-
lished ; a five-pound loaf being valued at four pence-
half penny, and the price of rye being fixed at three
shillings and threepence per bushel.
On the 2d of April, 1698, Lord Bellamont arrived at
New York, accompanied by his wife and his cousin, John
Nanfan, who was also his Ueutenant-governor, and was
received by the citizens with demonstrations of delight.
Johannes de Peyster, the brother of Abraham de Pey-
ster, the mayor of 1691, was at this time mayor of the
city, having succeeded William Merritt, who had filled
the mayoralty for the past three years. The cor-
poration at once gave a public dinner to the governor
and tendered him a complimentary address, and the
people were not backward in seconding the welcome.
Bellamont, who was diametrically opposed to the
policy of Fletcher, at once attached himself to the
Lpisterian party. He had already espoused the same
/ cause in England, and had aided young Leisler in pro-
curing the reversion of his father's attainder. He
molded his council to suit his own views. Bayard,
Philipse and the rest of their party, resigned or were
removed, and a new council was appointed, consisting
chiefly of the Leislerian party. A new Assembly was
convened on the 18th of May, 1699, in which the same
element preponderated. Bellamont's opening speech
augured well for the future. He spoke of the disorderly
state of the province, left as it was with a divided
people, an empty treasury, ruined fortifications and a
few half-naked soldiers, and branded with the stigma of
being a rendezvous for pirates. ** It would be hard,"
CITY OF NEW YORK. 261
said he, '*if I, who come before you with an honest
" heart and a resolution to be just to your interests,
** should meet with greater difficulties in the discharge
"of his majesty's service than those who have gone
** before me. I shall take care that there shall be no
**more misapplication of the public money; I shall
** pocket none of it myself, neither shall there be any
" embezzlement of it by others ; but exact accoimts
** shall be given you when and bs often as you
" require/'
The members of the Assembly, rejoiced at the pledges
of their new governor, passed a warm vote of thanks
for this welcome speech, and voted him a revenue for six
years. In compliance with his suggestions, they passed
several wholesome acts for the suppression of piracy,
for the regulation of the elections, and for the indemnifi-
cation of those who had been excepted from the general
pardon of 1691. Under this act, the families of Leisler
and Milbome recovered their estates. The time had now
come for the exaltation of these martyrs. Their remains
were disinterred with great ceremony, and after lying in
state for some weeks, were conveyed under guard of a
military escort to the Dutch church in Garden street,
and buried there. An immense concourse of citizens
attended the funeral, which was honored by the presence
of the governor himself.
Soon after the arrival of Bellamont, the mayor and
corporation waited on him, and entreated his assistance
in the recovery of the coveted bolting monopoly. They
also raised the sum of fifty pounds sterling for the pur-
pose of dispatching a special agent to the English govern-
/
262 HISTORY OP THE
ment to represent to them the misery which the repeal
of this act had occasioned in the city, and a memorial waa
addressed to the king, depicting the prevailing famine in
glowing colors, and prophesying utter niin to New York,
imless this privilege, which constituted the life of the
city, should at once be restored to it. But their prayers
and petitions were of no avail ; the act of the Assembly
was not repealed ; yet New York continued to thrive
without the aid of the bolting monopoly.
In 1699, David Provoost was appointed mayor. Mr.
Provoost was the son of one of the ancient Dutch burg-
hers, and a popular man among his fellow-citizens. Hk
administration was marked by several public improve-
ments. Two new market houses were erected, one at
Coenties Slip and the other at the foot of Broad
street, and King, now William street, was filled up and
regulated. Public scavengers were employed to clean
the streets, and all persons were directed to pave before
their houses under penalty of a fine of twenty shillings.
A hospital was established for the poor in a house hired
for the purpose — ^no institution of the kind was built
until three-quarters of a century after. The ferry was
farmed out for a term of seven years at a rent of a him-
dred and sixty-five pounds sterling per annum. By the
conditions of the lease, the lessee was required to keep
two large boats for com and cattle, and two smaller ones
for passengers. The rates of fare were fixed at eight
'♦^^nyvers in wampum or a silver twopence for single per-
P^^* or half that sum for each of a company ; a shilling
f ' ^]^V^^ "^^^ twopence for a hog, a penny for a sheep,
. "^^ ^^'ty engaged to build a substantial ferry-house
\
\
Si^
CITY OP NEW YORK. 263
on Nassau or Long Island, which the ferry-man was
required to keep in repair. The dock was also leased to
Philip French at an annual rent of forty pounds sterUng ;
the lessee being required within a year to clean the dock
and slip till a sandy bottom should be found, and to
keep it, and the wharves about it, clean in the future.
A variety of municipal ordinances were passed the same
year, the general tendency of which was to restrain all
public excesses and to promote the welfare of the city.
The firing of guns within the precincts of the city was
strictly forbidden. A powder-house was ordered to be
built for public use, and all persons were interdicted from
keeping more than fifty pounds of powder in their houses
at one time. An impost was levied upon all flour and
bread brought into the city, for the benefit of the public
treasury ; this tax, however, proved unpopular, and was
annulled a few weeks after.
In 1700, Isaac de Riemer, a merchant of Holland
origin was appointed mayor. He was a descendant of
one of the oldest families of the city, and a nephew of
the well-known ComeUus Steenwyck, the former mayor.
Bellamont, in the meantime, had gone to Boston, hav-
ing been appointed governor of Massachusetts as well
as of New York, to look after the interests of the Board
of Trade, as he had especially been instructed to do.
This board, consisting of a president and seven members,
had been instituted in 1696, just after the appointment
of Bellamont as governor, and the commerce of the colo-
nieB placed under its supervision. The acts of trade
restricting this commOTce had been made still more strin-
gent, and courts of Vioe-Admiralty established in all
264 HISTORYOPTHE
the colonies, invested with supreme authority in all cases
pertaining to the admiralty or revenue. The colonists
protested bitterly against this measure, but the English
government sustained the courts, and imposed oaths
upon the colonial governors to enforce the acts of trade.
The people however rebelled against the new author-
ities, and the revenue laws were constantly violated,
especially in New England. Bellamont's address and
manners soon made him popular among his Boston
subjects, but they strenuously resisted his efiforte to
enforce the navigation acts, and he returned to New
York, having effected nothing. Here, he soon became
involved in a new controversy with the New York
merchants, who complained of him to the Board of Trade
and to Parliament. But before the affair could be inves-
tigated, the proceedings were suspended by the sudden
death of the governor. He was buried with funeral
honors in the chapel of the fort, and a few days after-
wards, his coat of arms was carried in great state and
placed in front of the City Hall in Wall street, together
with that of his successor, John Nanfan. Here they
remained until the arrival of Combury and the accession
of the anti-Leislerian party in 1702, when they were
torn down and contemptuously broken in pieces.
The authority now devolved upon Lieutenant-Governor
Nanfan until the appointment of a new governor, but,
he being absent in Barbadoes, a violent contest took place
in respect to the temporary administration of the gov-
ernment. The anti-Leislerians insisted that it belonged
of right to Colonel William Smith, the senior member
of the coimcil, while the Leislerians, who were in the
CITY OP NEW TOEK. 265
majority, declared that a temporary chairman must be
elected, as had previously been done after the death of
Sloughter. In the midst of the discussion Nanfan
arrived, and opportimely assumed the direction of the
government.
Nanfan was as warm a Leislerian as Bellamont, though
less judicious in his course of policy, and his first
Assembly was imbued with the same spirit. In the late
contest, the claims of Smith to the chair had been
warmly supported by Peter Schuyler and Robert Liv-
ingston, the latter of whom had been one of Leisler's
bitterest foes, and had been denounced by Milborne in
his dying words upon the scaffold. The time had now
come for him to pay the penalty. The new Assembly
removed him from his office of Secretary of Indian
Aflfairs and Collector of Customs, and demanded his
accounts, which he could not fiirnish, as the Assembly
weU knew, for they were at this time in the hands of
Lady Bellamont. Upon his failure to produce them,
he was pronounced a defaulter, and expelled from the
council, and his property was confiscated for the public
benefit.
Not less was the confusion in the city aflFairs. At this
time, the municipal government was composed of a mayor,
recorder, six aldermen, and six assistants, the mayor
having the casting vote. In the fall election of ITOl,
Thomas Noell, a merchant and an anti-Leislerian, was
elected mayor, and Abraham Gouvemeur, a Leislerian
and the husband of the widow of Milbome, recorder.
The Dock Ward returned Philip French and Robert
Lurting, both anti<Leislerians, as alderman and assistants
266 HISTORY OF THE
In the Out Ward, Martin Clock and Abraham Messier,
and, in the North Ward, Jacob Boelen and Gerrit Oncle-
berg, all Leislerians, were elected to the same offices.
These returns were not disputed. In the other wards the
Leislerians also claimed to have gained the victory, but
the contest was so close that they were apprehensive that
the new mayor would refuse to receive their oaths,
denying their election, and to meet this exigency, they
determined to be sworn in by the retiring mayor, De
Riemer, who was one of their party, which was accord-
ingly done. Johannes de Peyster, alderman, and
Abraham Brasier, assistant, of the East Ward ; David
Provoost, alderman, and Peter William Roome, assist-
ant, of the West Ward ; and Nicholas Roosevelt,
alderman, and' Hendrick Jallisen, assistant, of the South
Ward, were the members elect of the disputed dis-
tricts.
On the 14th of October, Mayor Noell took the oaths
of office before the governor at the fort, then proceeded
with the Conftnon Council to Trinity Church to listen
to the annual sermon, according to the usual custom.
This done, he proceeded to the City Hall, and, having
proclaimed his commission, proceeded to swear in the
the members elect, but all refused to take the oaths
except French and Lurting, alleging that they had been
sworn in by flie retiring mayor. On hearing this, he pro-
ceeded to swear in Brandt Schuyler, John Hutchins and
William Morris as aldermen, and Johannes Jansen,
Robert White, and Jeremiah Tuthill as assistants of the
disputed wards. This proceeding caused so great an
excitement, that Noell was finally compelled to dismiss
CITY OP NEW YORK. 267
the assembly, without having sworn in the new city
officials.
The city remained thus without a government until the
11th of November, when Noell again proceeded to the
City Hall to swear in Schuyler, Hutchins, Morris and
their assistants. The Leislefian members were already
there in their places as members of the common council.
Regardless of their protests, the mayor proceeded to
swear in their antagonists, when the whole twenty took
their seats together, each fully determined to share in
the administration of the government. Finding that
nothing could be done with so intractable an assembly,
Noell ended by dismissing them all for a fortnight, and
availed himself of the recess to appeal to the Supreme
Court, which settled the matter by giving seats to Schuy-
ler and Hutchins, and their assistants of the anti-Leisle-
rian, and De Peyster and his assistant of the Leislerian
party. The board thus stood equally divided, but the
balance of power remained in the hands of the anti-Leis-
lerians, the mayor having the casting vote. The affair
occasioned the most intense excitement, and was one of
the most turbulent elections ever witnessed in the city.
News soon arrived that Lord Combury had been
appointed as Lord Bellamont's successor, and Bayard,
anxious to gain him over to his party, forwarded ad-
dresses to him and to parliament, denouncing the Leisler-
ians, and especially Nanfan, whose administration he vili-
fied in the most odious terms. News of this proceeding
coming to Nanfim's ears, he arrested and imprisoned Bay-
ard, together with John Hutchins, one of the newly elected
aldermen, who had taken an active part in procuring sig-
268 HISTORY OF THE
natures to the obnoxious addresses. The prisoners were
tried by a special court, under the very act which Bayard
himself had procured to secure the condemnation of Leis-
ler. This act, which was the first passed by Sloughter's
assembly, provided "that any person who should
** endeavor by any manner df way, or upon any pretence,
** by force of arms or otherwise, to distiu^b the peace,
'' good and quiet of the province, should be esteemed
"rebels and traitors, and should incur the pains and
" penalties which the laws of England had provided for
" such offence."
As little fairness as had been shown in the trial of
Leisler was now accorded to Bayard; who was indicted
for rebellion and treason, for inciting the soldiers in the
fort to rebellion, and for persuading them to sign libels
against the existing government. The majority of the
judges were Dutch, and were well known as his declared
foes. Atwood, the chief-justice, pressed the charge in
the most violent manner, and, despite all the efforts of
the prisoner's friends and of the counsel, he was found
guilty and sentenced to death. Hutchins was also tried
and condemned. Thus far the cases of Bayard and
Leisler were parallel ; but the former received leniency
which had not been accorded to the latter — a reprieve
was granted him until the king's pleasure should be
known. Suddenly, the arrival of Cornbury changed the
aspect of affairs. Bayard was released and promoted
to honor, the Leislerian party fell into disgrace, Atwood
was forced to flee the country, and the new governor
declared himself at the head of the anti-Leislerians.
CHAPTER IX.
17(tt-17J0.
Combury in New York— Pablio ImproTements— First Negro Plot in the City— Admin-
istration of Bobert Hunter.
In May, 1702, Edward Hyde, Lord Combury, eldest
son of the Earl of Clarendon, arrived, charged with
the administration of the government of New York
and the Jerseys. These provinces had been divorced
for a considerable time, but, diflBculties having arisen
between the proprietors of the latter, they had finally
ceded their patents to Queen Anne as the easiest method
of settling aflfairs and ridding themselves of a dignity
which they had found to be an expensive luxury. Upon
this retrocession, the queen placed both provinces under
the command of Lord Combury, a near kinsman of her
own, and they remained thus reunited until 1738,
though each preserved a distinct legislative assembly.
Combury was a reckless adventurer, profligate and
imprincipled, who had fled from England to escape the
demands of his creditors, and whose sole claim to this
important command rested on his kindred to royalty.
Eager to acquire wealth from his new subjects, and
270 HISTORY OF THE
wholly regardless of their wishes or interests, he soon
completely alienated their affections and became the
object of universal detestation. Cornbury had received
a long list of instructions from the queen. By these, he
was enjoined to rule the two provinces with impartiality,
to grant liberty of conscience to all except papists, to
consider Quakers eligible for offices of public trust and to
receive their affirmations instead of oaths ; yet, while
tolerating all religions, to endeavor to make the Church
of England the established church of the land ; to keep
the churches that were already built in repair, to build
more as occasion required, and to furnish each minister
with a house and glebe at the common charge ; to pun-
ish drunkenness, swearing, and vice of all kinds ; to
encourage trade and traders, particularly the Royal
African .Company of England, and to recommend to the
said Company to see that the colony had a constant and
sufficient supply of merchantable negroes at moderate
rates. He was also instructed to endeavor to get a law
passed for restraining inhuman severity to Christian ser-
vants and slaves,' and to make the willful murder of
Indians and negroes an offence punishable with death.
The spirit of these instructions conveys a fair idea of the
state of popular feeling at this time in respect to slaves
and slavery. These degraded beings were held in the
most abject bondage, and the strictest laws were passed
for restraining their liberty. Not more than four were
allowed to assemble at a time, nor were they permit-
ted to pass the city gates without the permission of
their master. The use of weapons was not permitted
them, they were not suffered to own either houses or
CITY OF NEW YORK. 271
land, and their masters were forbidden to set them free
under penalty of a heavy fine. As time wore on, their
burdens grew still heavier. In 1711, a public market
for slaves was established at the market-house at the
foot of Wall street slip, where all negroes or Indians
who were to be hired were ordered to stand in readiness
for bidders. In the following year, a city ordinance was
passed, providing that any negro or Indian slave who
should presume to appear in the streets after nightfall
without a lantern with a lighted candle in it should
be committed to jail, to remain there until released
by the payment of a fine of eight shillings by hia
master, and as an equivalent, the authorities pledged
themselves that the culprit should receive thirty-nine
lashes at the public whipping-post, should his master
desire. But the negroes did not submit tamely .to these
despotic regulations. From time to time, an outbreak
warned the whites of the strength of the power which
they were endeavoring to repress, and of the deadly
peril which was brooding among thorn. Such an instance
occurred in 1707 at Newtown, on Long Island, where
a Mr, Hallet, with his wife and five children, was mur-
dered one night in cold blood by two of his slaves.
The murderers were seized, tried, condemned, and
executed with the most horrible tortures. They con-
fessed the crime, saying that they had committed it
in revenge, because they had been forbidden to go
out on Sunday. The punishments inflicted for this
and similar deeds were terrible. The wretched crimi-
nals were chained to the stake and burned alive,
broken on the wheel, or suspended to the branches of
272 HISTORY OF THE
trees and left there to perish. A negro suspected of a
crime was tried at once under a special act of the Assem-
bly by a court composed of three justices and five free-
holders, and invested with authority to try, convict and
sentence to immediate execution. An old newspaper
now before us, of the date of January 28, 1733, records
the case of a negro who was seized on Monday, tried on
Tuesday, and burned on Thursday in the presence of a
crowd of witnesses. Truly, we seem to be not very far
off from the barbaric ages !
Upon his arrival, the new governor immediately
attached himself to the anti-Leislerians, and openly
avowed himself at the head of the party. Through his
efforts, the first Assembly that met after his coming was
composed chiefly of the same faction. Anxious to win a
continuance of his favor, they voted him a revenue for
seven years, increased his salary from six to twelve hun-
dred pounds, and presented him with two thousand
pounds to defray the expenses of his voyage. Nor were
Mayor Noell and the corporation less profuse in their
demonstrations of affection and fidelity. A public din-
ner was given in honor of his arrival ; he was presented
with the freedom of the city in a gold box, and a con-
gratulatory address was tendered him by the civic
authorities. In honor of the opening administration,
the members of his suite were also made freemen, toge-
ther with the soldiers of the garrison, and all citizens
who were too poor to purchase their freedom. At this
time, the freedom of the city was not an empty name — it
conveyed the right to trade, to vote and to be voted for,
and to share in all other municipal privileges, and was
CITY OF NEW YORK. 273
indeed more pregnant with meaning than is the present
act of naturalization. A census of the inhabitants was
ordered to be made, and the population was found to
amount to 5,250.
Hitherto, there had been no free grammar school in
New York. Various private schools had been set up
from time to time under the supervision and with the
permission of the government, and iEgidius Luyck had
founded a flourishing classical school in the days of
Stuyvesant, which had grown into a flourishing institu-
tion and attracted many pupils from the distant settle-
ments. But, owing to the frequent changes in the
government and the internal disorder of the city, this
had been broken up ; and though various individuals had
essayed from time to time to play the pedagogue, their
efforts had met with moderate success, and at this time
education was at a very low ebb in the city. At length the
corporation took the matter in hand, and, at a meeting
held soon after Cornbury's arrival, resolved that there
ought to be and must be a free grammar school in the
city, and that, sa there was no teacher to be had in New
York who was capable of taking charge of one, steps
should immediately be taken to procure one from Eng-
land. A petition was accordingly addressed to the
Bishop of London, entreating him to send them a
native-bom English teacher, of good learning, pious life
and conversation, and a mild and even temper ; and
Lord Cornbury was urged to back this petition by his
influence, and to recommend it to the notice of the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts ; and likewise to appropriate to it part of the
18
274 HISTORY OF THE
proceeds of the King's Farm. This petition was repeatedly
urged by the citizens upon the notice of the governor,
but it was not until 1705 that the school was finally
established, and Andrew Clarke appointed master.
Soon after the arrival of Lord Cornbury, a disease,
strongly resembling the yellow fever, was imported from
St. Thomas into the city. The infection spread rapidly,
nearly every one attacked with it died in a few hours,
and the epidemic was long remembered as " the great
'' sickness of New York." The frightened inhabitants
fled in terror from the infected city to the Jersey and
Long Island shores. Lord Cornbury, with his council,
also fled from the pestilence, and took up his quarters
at Jamaica on Long Island. This village was under
the control of the Presbyterians, who, a short time
before, had erected a pretty little church, and had pur-
chased a house and glebe for the use of their minister.
This parsonage was decidedly the best house in the town,
and, on hearing of the coming of the governor, Mr. Hub-
bard, the minister, removed with his family to a neigh-
boring cottage, and courteously tendered it for his
excellency's accommodation. The hospitality was
accepted, and requited in a somewhat peculiar manner.
Like Fletcher, Cornbury had for his aim the establish-
ment of the Episcopal church in the province. The
handful of Episcopalians in Jamaica had long looked
with an envious eye on the prosperity of their Presbyte-
rian neighbors ; now, sure of receiving the protection of
Cornbury, they determined on reaping the fruits of their
labors. The church had been erected by a vote of the
town, and no proyision had been made for securing it
u
CITY OP NEW YORK. 275
to the use of any particulax denomination. Knowing
this, and arming themselves with the acts of Fletcher's
Assembly, the Episcopalians entered the church one Sun-
day between the hours of morning and afternoon service,
and took possession of the building. A scene of vio-
lence ensued, both parties disputed possession of the
church, the pews were torn out in the contest, and the
struggle was only ended by the interference of the gov-
ernor, who sustained the claims of Episcopal party. A
long and tedious litigation followed, but the Episcopalians
retained possession until 1728, though but two of the
denomination had contributed a dollar towards the build-
ing of the edifice. Nor was this all ; the sheriflF seized
upon the glebe, and leased it for the benefit of the Epis-
copal party ; and as a crowning act of perfidy, Cornbury,
on his return to New York, instead of restoring the par-
sonage to his hospitable host, basely surrendered it into
the hands of the Episcopal clergyman, who occupied it
henceforth as his place of residence.
It must certainly be admitted that, in encouraging
the establishment of the Episcopal religion, Cornbury
carried out his instructions to the very letter, and it
was unfortunate for the popularity of the church that
its earliest patrons in the province should have con-
sisted of men of his stamp. In 1703, he induced
the city authorities to donate a cemetery to Trinity
Church, now the established church of the city. In
the same year, the King's Farm, which had originally
been the property of the Dutch West India Company,
and which had been increased in 1671 by the purchase
of a large tract of land from the heirs of Aneke Jans,
276 HISTORY OF THE
was presented by Queen Anne to Trinity Church. Thus
was laid the foundation of the immense revenues which
the church still continues to enjoy, and which place it in
wealth as well as in antiquity, at the head of the Episco-
pal church in America. The schools were also placed
under the control of the same denomination, and an ordi-
nance was enacted, forbidding any person to teach school
in the province who had not first received a license from
the Bishop of London.
About this time, war was proclaimed by England
against France and Spain, and the Assembly that met in
1703, deeming it expedient to increase the fortifications,
voted an appropriation of fifteen hundred pounds for
the erection of two batteries at the Narrows, adding
that it should be used for no other purpose whatever.
This sum was raised by a poll-tax, the conditions of
which were curious enough to be worth recording.
Every member of the council was required to pay forty
shillings ; an assembly man, twenty shillings ; a lawyer
in practice, twenty shillings ; every man wearing a
periwig, five shillings and sixpence ; a bachelor of
twenty-five years and upwards, two shillings and three-
pence ; every freeman between the ages of sixteen and
sixty, ninepence ; and the owners of slaves one shilling
for each. The required sum was raised in this manner :
but, regardless of the conditions on which it was given,
the governor drew it from the treasury and applied it to
his own use, refusing to account to the Assembly for its
expenditure. Exasperated at such a gross violation of
trust, the Assembly at once demanded a treasurer, and
refused to make any further appropriations until one
CITY OF NEW YORK. 277
should be appointed, declaring that they were English-
men, and had a right to control the expenditure of their
own money. "I know of no right that you have,
** except such as the queen is pleased to allow you,"
was the curt reply of the governor, as he angrily dis-
solved the Assembly.
The new Assembly that was convened in 1705 was not
much more pliable. Money was needed, for the war
was still carried on, and the city was almost defenceless.
A French privateer had already entered the harbor and
terrified the inhabitants, and they had no security
against other and more dangerous visitants ; but they
remembered that they had already paid for two batteries
at the Narrows, the first stone of which was not yet laid,
and they were loth to make another such investment of
their money.- Seeing the real need of foi-tifications,
however, they at length voted three thousand pounds to
be applied to their erection and to the maintenance of a
company of scouts on the frontiers, but only on con-
dition that it should be disbursed by a person of their
own choosing. To this, Combury reluctantly con-
sented as the only means of raising the money, then
immediately prorogued the Assembly. In 1706, it was
again convened, but, being more refractory than ever,
was speedily dissolved by the governor.
The municipal authorities, awake to the danger of the
city, joined in the demand for fortifications, and, on the
appropriation of the money, summoned all the citizens
to aid in the work of strengthening the town. The resi-
dents of ihe six city wards were ordered to work in
turn upon the fortifications, either in person or by sub-
278 HISTORY OF THE
stitute, whenever summoned by the mayor. The town-
crier went through the streets of each ward in turn, and,
calling the inhabitants by the sound of a dnun, pro-
claimed the time and place of rendezvous for the
next morning's labor. The citizens repaired to the forti-
fications, armed with picks and shovels, and strengthened
the palisades, repaired the half-ruined artillery-mounts,
moimted the guns, and placed the city in a defensive
posture. From two to four hundred men were employed
daily upon the works ; and the inhabitants were ordered
to hold themselves in readiness to appear in arms at the
first alarm to repel the French fleet that was hourly
expected. But their fears were groimdless — ^no attack
was made on the city.
Meanwhile, the governor had spared nothing which
might render him odious in the eyes of his people. Not
content with his previous infringement of their civil and
religious rights, he pushed his despotism so far as to for-
bid the Dutch congregation to open their church or to
listen to their preacher. He imprisoned two Presby-
terian ministers for preaching without his license, and
practised the most shameless fraud and peculation in the
discharge of his official duties. Not content with this,
to render himself still more contemptible, he plunged
into debaucheries and extravagances of every sort,
parading the fort in the dress of a woman, and carousing
and revelling in the most shameless manner. He was
deeply involved in debt ; but, protected as he was by
the insignia of his office, none of his creditors dared to
molest him. Wearied at length beyond endurance with
this detestable tyranny, the citizens of New York
CITY OF NEW YORK. 279
and New Jersey joined in a petition to the queen for his
removal. It was but the repetition of the numerous
complaints which had long been sounding from across
the water ; and Anne, finding it impossible longer to turn
a deaf ear to • the prayers of the colonists, reluctantly
yielded, and revoked her kinsman's commission. Hardly
had she done this when his hungry creditors seized upon
their prey, and threw him into the debtor's prison in the
upper story of the new City Hall in Wall street, where
he remained until the death of his father, the Earl of
Clarendon, raised him from his cell to the peerage of
Great Britain.
Having thus followed the profligate nobleman through
his brief but dissolute career, let us take a retrospective
view of the prominent events in mimicipal affairs during
the time of his administration. It is not our purpose to
record dry documents, or to catalogue city ordinances
which would fill folios with but little interest to the
general reader ; yet we wish to note the milestones in
the progress of the city which may serve to indicate ite
steady and rapid growth.
We have already noted the large donations of muni-
cipal privileges by which the corporation ushered in the
administration of Cornbury. At the same time, the rates
for purchasing the freedom of the city were changed to
twenty shillings for a merchant or trader, and six shillings
for a mechanic. New ordinances were passed in respect
to cleaning the streets — a matter in which the primitive
New Yorkers seem to have experienced a foretaste of
the trouble endured by their descendants. The previous
ordinances having failed of effect, it was enacted in 1702
280 HISTORY OF THE
that all the inhabitants should sweep the dirt in heaps in
front of their doors on Friday morning, and have it con-
veyed away and thrown into the river or elsewhere
before Saturday night under penalty of six shillings.
This, the cartmen were required to cany away at the
rate of three cents per load, or six, if they loaded their
carts themselves ; and were subjected to heavy fines
in case of a refusal. A pound was instituted for the
keeping of stray cattle, and a pound-master appointed,
who was to retain one-half of the fees as his due, and to
pay the remaining half into the city treasiu-y. The fees
were fixed at ninepence for a horse, fourpence-halfpenny
for neat cattle, and threepence for sheep and swine. It
was also made lawful for any person to kill swine found
rimning at large south of the fresh water. In 1706, a
widow by the name of Rebecca Van Schaick received the
appointment of city pound-keeper.
In the autumn succeeding Lord Combury's arrival,
Philip French, a merchant, and one of the leaders of the
anti-Leislerian party, was appointed to the mayoralty.
Mr. French was the son-in-law of Frederick Philipse,
the richest man in the province and one of Leisler's
bitterest foes, and he warmly seconded the quarrel of his
father. He had been among the most active in circulat-
ing the addresses which, during the administration of
Nanfan, had so nearly cost Nicholas Bayard his life, and
had been forced to flee to preserve his own liberty. On
the arrival of Combury, the scale turned, and, from an
outlaw, he came suddenly to ihe head of the municipal
government. Before his term of office expired, he was
forced to make a journey to Europe on business, and
)
CITY OF NEW TOSK. 281
resigned the charge of affairs into the hands of Sampson
Broughton, the city recorder.
In 1703, William Peartree, a West India merchant
and trader, was chosen mayor, and continued in the office
for the ensuing four years. He was active and efficient,
somewhat fond of military life, and a fitting magistrate
to superintend the fortifications rendered necessary by
the exigencies of war during his administration. He had
a house and grounds on Beaver street, between New
street and Broadway, where he resided for a long time,
and died in 1713, leaving one daughter, who married
William Smith, a New York merchant.
During the first year of his administration, the French
Protestant church Du Saint-Esprit was built in Pine
street by the Waldenses and Huguenots, many of whom
had settled in New York and its vicinity. The Rev.
James Laborie was the first pastor, and the church soon
nimibered a flourishing congregation. The Waldenses
had a settlement at Staten Island ; a large number had
also settled in Brooklyn. The Huguenots had foimded
a settlement at New Rochelle in 1689 on lands pur-
chased for them by Jacob Leisler ; and, on Satiu-day
night, after finishing their week's work, the zealous exiles
would walk down to their church at Manhattan, and,
spending the night with their brethren of New York,
walk back to their distaut settlement the next night
after service, singing their hymns by the way, to be in
time to commence their tasks on Monday morning. This
church is one of the moniunents of olden times which,
resisting age, and the more destructive fire which has
swept away so many of our landmarks, has come down
282 HISTORY OF THE
to our own times to speak to us of a distant past. The
descendants of its people now congregate in Franklin
street, where service is still performed in the language
of the Huguenots.
French Choroh in Pine street, erected in 1704.
During the same year, a catechising school for negroes
was opened by the Rev. William Vesey, the rector of
Trinity Church — ^the first attempt made in the city
towards providing any kind of instruction for this
degraded people. It was from this clergyman that Vesey
street derived its name. He remained in the city for
several years, then returned to England to become the
commissary of the Bishop of London. Church, Chapel
and Rector streets also owe their names to the same
clerical origin.
About the same time, Beekman's Swamp, the abode
of the tanners of olden times and of the leather-dealers
of to-day, was leased to Rip Van Dam, a member of the
council, for twenty-one years at a yearly rent of twenty
shillings. Of this swamp, more anon. Not many public
improvements were made during Cornbury's administra-
tion ; he cared but little for the growth of the city, and
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. 283
the occurrence of the war diverted the thoughts of the
citizens from works of this kind to those of public defence.
In the autumn of 1705, a riot occurred which occa-
sioned considerable excitement. Three English priva-
teers brought a Spanish man-of-war of twenty guns as a
prize into the harbor of New York. She had only been
captured after a desperate conflict, and was heavily laden
with a rich cargo. Elated by their victory, the privateers-
men were roaming through the streets of the city, when
they came by some accident into coUision with the sheriflF,
with whom they had a violent quarrel. Exasperated by
some words which incautiously escaped him, they sur-
rounded his house and assaulted and beat back those who
came to his rescue ; then, encouraged by this success, and
incensed by a rumor that the soldiers of the garrison had
been called out to suppress them, they next attacked two
army officers, and wounding one severely, stabbed Lieu-
tenant Featherstonehaugh, the other, through the heart.
The murder excited general alarm ; the drimi was beat
to arms, and a detachment of soldiers, backed by a
party of marines from the ships of war in the harbor,
quickly charged upon the mutinous privateersmen, and,
kilUng one and wounding several others, forced the whole
party to surrender. Erasmus Wilkins, the murderer of
the officer, was arrested, tried, convicted and executed.
In 1707, Ebenezer Wilson, a prominent merchant and
politician of the city, was appointed mayor. During his
administration, Water street was extended from Old Slip
to John street. Broadway was also paved from Trinity
church to the Bowling Green, and the residents permitted
to plant trees before their houses. These pavements
284 HISTORY OF THE
were of cobble stones, the gutter curb being of wood.
The gutters ran through the middle of the streets.
Brick was universally used for sidewalks — flag-stones
being as yet unknown to the city authorities. The posts
for tying horses were also ordered to be removed from
the streets. New and more stringent regulations were
passed in respect to fires, the fire-wardens were directed
to keep strict watch of all hearths and chimneys within
the city and to see that the fire-buckets were hung up
in their right places throughout the wards, and two
hooks and eight ladders were purchased at the pubUc
expense for the use of the embryo fire-department.
The ferry lease, granted in 1699, having now expired,
the ferry was leased again on similar conditions to James
Harding, at a yearly rent of one hundred and eighty
pounds sterling. The rates of ferriage remained the
same. The lessee was required to keep a house of
entertainment at the new brick ferry-house which had
been built by the corporation on Long Island, and to keep
the premises, consisting of a house, bam, well, and land-
ing-bridge, in good repair. .He was also required to keep a
poimd for cattle, and to keep two scows and two small
boats constantly plying between the shores. These boats
were to receive and discharge passengers and freight on
Mondays and Thursdays at Countesses' Key,* or the foot
of Maiden Lane ; on Tuesdays and Fridays, at Burger's
Path,f or Hanover Square ; and on Wednesdays and
* So called from the Countess of Bellamout.
f This appellation originated in this wise. The land in the viciDity of HanoTer
Square and William street having been originally owned by Borger Joris« one of
the early Dutch settlers, the latter street became known as Borger^s, afterwards
corrupted to Burger's Path.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 285
Thursdays at the dock at Coenties Slip. The landing-
place on the Long Island shore was a little below that
of the present l^ulton ferry.
Mayor Wilson retained his oflSce for three years.
Before the first had expired, news reached the city of
ttie recall of Lord Cornbury. His future career we have
already indicated. On the 18th of December, 1708,
John, Lord Lovelace, Baron of Hurley, who had been
appointed the spring before as Cornbury's successor,
arrived at New York, and was joyfully welcomed by the
citizens. In April, 1709, he convened his first Assembly ,
of whom he demanded the grant of a permanent revenue
and the payment of the governmental debts, together
with a full examination of the public accounts, " that it
" might be known to all the world that the public debt
" was not contracted in his time." This last request was
hailed by the colonists as a good omen of the just inten-
tions of their new governor. But past experience had
taught them the importance of retaining the control of
the revenue in their own hands, as the only means
whereby they could secure a real power in the govern-
ment, and they were little disposed to grant the first
demand of Lovelace. They offered to raise twenty-five
hundred pounds for the expenses of the ensuing year,
sixteen hundred of which were to be appropriated to the
governor's salary, and the remaining nine hundred to the
maintenance of the forts at New York, Albany, and
Schenectady, together with the payment of printing bills
and other contingent expenses. The conduct of Corn-
bury and his predecessors had taught them a useful les-
son, and they were firmly resolved henceforth to grant
286 HISTORY OF THE
•
none but annual appropriations, and thus to make the
salary of the governor dependent upon his good conduct
from year to year. How well Lovelace would have rel-
ished this independent proceeding can never be known,
for he died on the 5th of May, 1709, the same day on
which the act was passed, leaving the government in
the hands of the lieutenant-governor, Major Richard
Ingoldsby, our old acquaintance in the aflFair of Leisler,
He administered the government for eleven months,
when the complaints of his subjects concerning his mis-
management of a hostile expedition which had been dis-
patched against Canada, caused his removal. Gerardus
Beekman, the president of the council, assumed the direc-
tion of affairs during the short period that intervened
before the arrival of the newly-appointed governor.
Robert Himter arrived in the early part of the simi-
mer of 1710, and immediately assumed the direction of
the government. He was a fair sample of the freaks of
fortune. Bom of humble Scotch parentage, he was
apprenticed while yet a boy to the service of an
apothecary. The embryo governor soon tired of the
mortar and pestle, and it was not long before he ran
away, and enlisted in the army as a common soldier.
He was handsome, talented and ambitious, and possessed
of an education far above his station ; these quahties
attracted the notice of his superiors, and procured him
a speedy promotion. He soon became a favorite of
the officers, preferment followed preferment in rapid
succession, and ere many years had passed, the humble
apothecary-boy had risen to the ranlf of a brigadier in
the English army. His fine talents and graceful man-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 287
ners won him the friendship of many of the distinguished
literary men of the day, Addison and Swift among the
rest, and the hand of an English heiress, Lady Hay,
through whose influence he obtained the commission of
lieutenant-governor of Virginia. While on his way to
his new command, in 1707, he was captured by a French
privateer and carried back a prisoner to Europe. But
fortune, which seemed harsh to him in this single
instance, was only reserving him for a higher destiny.
After a short imprisonment, he was exchanged, and
invested with the government of the provinces of New
York and New Jersey. In education, mind and man-
ners, he was superior to most of his predecessors ; but
he had received strict instructions to guard the claims of
the crown against the demands of the people, and to
repress the spirit of independence which had manifested
itself so strongly of late in their legislative bodies.
With the new governor came three thousand Ger-
mans, natives of the Palatinate, who, driven from their
homes by the inhuman commands of Louis XIV. at the
instigation of Louvois, had besought the English gov-
ernment to give them homes in the New World. Ten
thousand pounds sterling were appropriated by parlia-
ment to defray the expenses of the unfortunate exiles,
who, in return, indentiu'ed themselves for a term of years
to manufacture tar for the naval stores of Great Britain.
This was the commencement of German immigration.
A considerable number of the new-comers remained
in New York, where they built the Lutheran church
in Broadway on the site of the future Grace church
soon after their arrival 5 some ascended the Hudson River
288 HISTORY OF THE
to Livingston's Manor, and commenced the cultivation
of the tract of land now known as the German Flats,
and by far the greater part migrated to Pennsylvania
and laid the foundation of the German population which
now forms so large an element in that State.
On his arrival, Hunter directly attached himself to the
anti-Leislerian party, which, at this time as formerly, for
the most part comprised the aristocracy of the city. His
first council was composed of Gerardus Beekman, whom
we have already mentioned as administering the govern-
ment after the dismissal of Ingoldsby; Rip Van Dam, a
Holland merchant and one of the wealthiest men of the
city ; Killian Van Rensselaer, of the family of the well-
known patroon of Rensselaerswick ; Judge Montpesson,
an eminent lawyer, John Barbaric, one of the early
Huguenot settlers, and Frederick Philipse, already known
to us from his action in the revolution of Leisler in 1789.
Immediately on his arrival in New York, Hunter
secured the support of Lewis Morris, one of the most
influential land-owners in New York and New Jersey.
He was the son of Richard Morris, an officer in
Cromwell's army, who had emigrated to America soon
after the retrocession of the province to the English, and
purchased a manor ten miles square in the neighbor-
hood of Harlem, to which he gave the name of Morrisania.
Dying soon after, he left his only son to the care of his
brother Lewis, who took up his residence on the estate
in question, and at his death, made his nephew his sole
heir. Lewis Morris"^ was an adherent of the Leislerian
* See Appendix, Note K.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 289
party, and he and his descendants l^ng continued to
exert a powerful influence on the affairs of the province.
The first act of Governor Hunter's administration was
to join with the New England States in a project for the
conquest of Canada. This had always been a favorite
scheme of the English ; and the citizens of New York
were especially interested in its success. Acadia had
just been conquered by Francis Nicholson, the governor
of Virginia, and its inhabitants expelled without striking
a blow ;.and the door seemed thus opened to an easy
victory. The Assembly, on being convened, heartily
sanctioned the proposed expedition, and appropriated
ten thousand pounds towards defraying the expense. To
raise the money, bills of credit were issued, and paper
money was thus first introduced into New York. A
large body of troops, raised from New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut, assembled at Albany under the com-
mand of Nicholson, where they were joined by a rein-
forcement of eight hundred Iroquois. These were to
march to attack Montreal, while the fleet and army
which had been sent from England should at the same
time assail Quebec. The city was in a state of intense
excitement. The people were deeply interested in the
enterprise, they saw themselves in fancy already masters
of Canada, and eagerly awaited the news of the victory.
They were doomed to disappointment.
Nothing but judicious management had been spared
to secure the success of the expedition. A fleet of fif«
teen ships of war and forty transports, well manned and
provided with all the necessary munitions, had been dis-
patched from England with instructions to touch at Bos-
19
290 HISTORY OF THB
ton for the Massachusetts reinforcements, then to sail
at once to attack Quebec. But a month was wasted in
Boston harbor in embarking the colonial troops and pro-
viding supplies, which, after all, were totally inadequate
to the wants of the expedition. After this long delay, the
ships set sail for the St. Lawrence ; but hardly had they
arrived in the mouth of the river when the fleet became
enveloped in a dense fog. The American pilots advised
that the ships should lie to with their heads to the south,
but the admiral obstinately refused to permit this, and
commanded them to keep on their course to the north-
ward. It was not long before they found themselves lost
among the rocks and islands of the northern shore. The
men-of-war escaped from the tortuous channels, but
eight transports were driven on the rocky shoals, and
went down, burjring eight hundred and sixty men
beneath the waters. Dismayed at the fruits of his own
obstinacy, the admiral hastily put about and returned to
Spanish River Bay, where he held a council of war, and,
finding that they had but ten weeks' provisions, deter-
mined at once to abandon the expedition. On hearing
of the misfortunes of the fleet, the land force returned
disconsolate to the city, and the vision of the conquest of
Canada, on which the colonists had expended so much
hope and treasure, vanished in thin air from before their
expectant eyes.
The ill success of this expedition cast a deep gloom
over the city, and did not dispose the people to second
the governor's plans for their future course of action. He
had warmly urged the Assembly that had convened in
the spring of 1711 to grant a permanent revenue for the
CITY OF*NEW YORK. 291
support of the government, pleading that such were the
instructions of the queen, but this they persistently
refused to do, and granted appropriations for a single
year instead. The point was warmly contested by the
governor and council, but neither party could be per-
suaded to yield.
The session of 1712 was equally stormy in its charac-
ter. The Assembly repaired the fortifications and kept
up the military force in compliance with the exigencies
of the war, but steadily refused to grant anything more
than an annual appropriation for the support of govern-
ment. The state of affairs was gloomy enough. The
Iroquois, who had hitherto been their fast friends, were
growing distrustful ; rumors were afloat of a projected
attack by sea, and the recent failure of the Canadian
expedition had weakened the faith of the people in their
own resources. At this juncture, a new source of trouble
arose. Ever since the introduction of slavery by the
Dutch West India Company, the traffic in negroes had
gone on continually increasing, till in numbers tJiey
began to rival the whites. In the midst of the general
panic, the attention of the citizens was suddenly arrested
by some mysterious movements on the part of the slaves.
The danger to which they were hourly exposed from this
host of oppressed and hitherto despised people, which
had silently been growing up in their midst, now flashed
upon them. Rumors circulated of an intended negro
insurrection, some real or imaginary evidences of a con-
certed plot were discovered, and the whole city was
seized with alarm. How much the real danger was mag-
nified by the fears of the inhabitants can never be
292 HISTORY 'OP THE
known ; certain it is that a riot occurred in which a
house was burned and several white men were killed.
A general arrest of negroes followed. Nineteen of the
unfortunate wretches were tried and executed for their
supposed complicity in the plot, and there the matter
rested, to be revived again a few years after in a still
more terrible aspect.
In the following year, the peace of Utrecht terminated
the war, and brought peace and rest to the harassed
colonists. By this treaty, France ceded the territory of
Hudson Bay, together with Newfoundland and Acadia,
to EDglaiid ; but, as the boundaries of these were not
defined they became the source of fruitful dissensions,
and were made the pretext for a continual frontier war-
fare as long as the Canadas remained in the hands of the
French.
Meanwhile, the contest between the governor and the
Assembly in respect to a permanent revenue had
increased in bitterness. It was the fixed policy of the
English government to weaken the power of the people
and to strengthen that of the crown, and Hunter, though
far more liberal and judicious than most of his predeces-
sors, left no means untried to establish this end. What
they had failed to accomplish by force, he effected by
persuasion, and, having succeeded by the aid of his
friend, Lewis Morris, in convening an Assembly favorable
to his interests in 1715, he prevailed on them to grant a
revenue for three years, and thus to render the officials
for that time independent of the people- Previously to
this, he had established a Court of Chancery, assuming
the office of Chancellor himself, and appointing as regis-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 293
ters, Frederick Philipse and Rip Van Dam, both mem-
bers of his council. The Assembly protested loudly
against this innovation, and the affair was referred to
the Lords of Trade, who, ever obsequious to the interests
of the crown, sustained the action of the governor, and
decided that her majesty had an undoubted right to
establish as many courts as she thought proper in her
own dominions. Gratified at this victory, the governor
made several important concessions to the people. He
permitted the naturalization of the Dutch inhabitants,
imposed taxes on British imports for the benefit of the
province, and levied tonnage duties on foreign vessels.
Lewis Morris was made chief justice in reward for his
services, continuing, meanwhile, to retain his seat in
the Assembly. In the following year, the city wit-
nessed the arrival of two new-comers, destined to enact
an important part in her future history. These were
James Alexander, the father of Lord Stirling of Revo-
lutionary memory, and William Smith, the father of
the future chief-justice and historian of New York ;
both eminent lawyers, who soon carved their way to
positions of honor and profit in their adopted city.
Despite Hunter's rigid observance of the instructions
of his royal mistress, he was popular among his subjects,
and seemingly disposed to further their interests when
they did not conflict with those of the English govern-
ment. But his administration was drawing to a close.
His health soon after failed him, and he was ordered by
his physicians to seek a warmer climate. Surrendering
the government into the hands of Peter Schuyler, the
eldest member of the council, the office of lieutenant-
294 HISTORY OF THE
governor being at that time vacant, he set sail for
Europe on the 31st of July, 1719, bearing with him
the sincere regards of his subjects. He afterwards
sought and obtained the government of Jamaica.
Having thus followed Governor Hunter through his
general career, in which the histories of the city and the
province are too closely interwoven to be wholly
divorced, let us take a retrospective view of municipal
aflFairs during the seventeen years of his administration.
He arrived at New York in the closing months of the
term of oflSce of Mayor Wilson. In 1710, Jacobus Van
Cortlandt, son of the well known OlofiFe Stevensen Van
Cortlandt, and brother of the ex-mayor Stephanus Van
Cortlandt, was appointed to the mayoralty. Mr. Van
Cortlandt was a wealthy merchant, and a prominent
member of the anti-Leislerian party, having already
represented the city in Sloughter's Assembly of 1791 ;
and was allied to several of the leading families of the
city. In the year of his election to the Assembly,
he married the daughter of the wealthy Frederick
Philipse, with whom he received a large estate on the
shores of the Hudson in the vicinity of Yonkers. This
estate fell, at his death, into the hands of his son
Frederick, who had married the daughter of Augustus
Jay, the Huguenot ancestor of the celebrated John Jay
of Revolutionary memory.*
About the same time, a new market was established
* Mr. Van Cortlandt died in 1789, leaving four children : Frederick, whom we
hare already mentioned; Margaret, who married Abraham dc Peyster, son of
the ex-mayor; Ann, who married John Chambers; and Mary, who married Peter
Jay. — See Appendix, Note L.
CITY OF NEW TORE.
295
Augiutafl Jay,
Born at La RocheUe, 16d6 ; died at New York, 1761.
F^rm f/b€ Poriraii belonging to the Jay Family, at Bedford, fVestcheeter County, N, V.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 297
at the upper end of Broad street, between the City Hall
and Exchange Place, and permission was given to the
residents of the vicinity to erect stalls and sheds to suit
their convenience under the direction of the clerk of the
market. Country people were also permitted to sell
meat at wholesale or retail as they pleased, subject to
the same supervision ; and bakers were required to
brand their loaves with their initials, under penalty
of forfeiture of the bread, and to conform strictly to
the legal aasize.
The laws relating to indentured apprentices were also *
amended. The term of apprenticeship was extended
from four to seven years, at the expiration of which
time, the master was bound to purchase for his appren-
tice the freedom of the city.
The winter of 1711 seems to mark the first appear-
ance of rowdyism in New York. A gang of men and
boys fell into the habit of amusing themselves by taking
midnight rambles, and throwing stones on their way at
the windows of the houses ; and so annoying did this
practice become, that the city authorities were finally
obliged to offer a reward for the apprehension of the
offenders. The evil was finally checked, and we find no
repetition of it for several years to come.
In the spring of the same year, it was resolved that a
meeting of the Common Council should be held at the
City Hall at 9 a.m. on the first Friday in every month,
and the treasurer was ordered to purchase eighteen
rush-bottom chairs, and an oval table, for their accom-
modation. The municipal ordinances of the preceding
year were rehearsed by their titles, and ordered to be
298 HISTORY OF THE
continued. The market-house at Wall street slip was
appointed as a public market-place for slaves — the first
that had ever been instituted in the city. A record,
dated the 1st of June of the same year, continues the
widow of Andreas Donn, deceased, in the ofl&ce of scaven-
ger of Broad street for one year at a salary of eleven
pounds sterling — a curious proof of the estimate of the
sphere of woman by the city fathers of the olden time.
In 1711, Caleb Heathcote, who had long mingled
actively in the politics of the province as one of the
leaders of the anti-Leislerian party, and had served
as a member of the council of Fletcher in 1692, and
again of Combury in 1702, was elected mayor. Mr.
Heathcote was a merchant, son of the mayor of Chester
in England, who, having been supplanted by his brother
iu the afiFections of his betrothed, had come to America
to forget his disappointment in the excitement of new
scenes. He took up his residence in the family of his
uncle, George Heathcote, one of the wealthiest mer-
chants of the city, who had emigrated from England in
1674, and soon became absorbed in the politics of the
province. His brother, meanwhile, won a fortune in the
mother-country, and became Sir Gilbert Heathcote, the
founder and first president of the Bank of England, and
Lord Mayor of London. Caleb learned to forget his
perfidious love, and espoused Margaret ?mith of Long
Island, daughter of the ex-governor of Tangiers.
familiarly styled ?* Tangier Smith" by his neighbors,
the better to distinguish him from his scores of name-
Bakes. He retained the mayoralty for three years, after
which he retired to his estate at Mamaroneck and built
CITY OF NEW YORK.
299
.^?^?r>,
Portrait of Caleb Heathcote.
there the well-known Heathcote Hall, where he died m
1721, leaving two sons and four daughters to inherit his
vast estates.
Little worthy of note in respect to municipal affairs
occurred during his administration. In 1712, Broadway
was levelled between Maiden Lane and the present
Park, and speculators began to look forward to the
time when these up-town lots would be of value.
During the same year, the negro plot which we have
already mentioned broke out, but was quickly sup-
pressed by the citizens.
The number of the city watch was soon after increased
300 HISTOBT OF THB
from four to six. The paupers were now beginning to be
both numerous and troublesome, and it was proposed,
instead of maintaining them by weekly pittances as had
hitherto been done, to provide a house where they could
be cared for at the public expense and be made to contri-
bute somewhat towards their livelihood. This scheme,
however, was not carried into eflFect until 1734, when a
commodious house was erected on the commons, in the
rear of the present City Hall, and well supplied with spin-
ning-wheels, shoemakers' tools, and other implements of
labor, to make it in some sort a self-sustaining institution.
During the same year (1714) an application was made to
the colonial government for permission to raise a yearly
tax of one hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the city
treasury ; but the request was refused. A census taken
at this time showed the city to contain five thousand
four hundred and eighty inhabitants.
In 1716, John Johnston, a shipping merchant of the
city was appointed mayor. Mr. Johnston was an active
politician and a member of the governor's council during
the last year of his mayoralty. He retained the office
for five years. But few changes took place in the city
during his administration.' In the first year of his rule,
the City Hall was graced by the first public clock ever
put up in the city. This was a gift from Stephen
De Lancey,* who, having been paid fifty pounds for his
services as representative in the Assembly, invested the
sum in a clock, which he presented to the Corporation
for the use of the city.
* See Appendix, Note K.
CITY OF NEW YOBK. 801
In 1717, die Long Island ferry was leased for a term
of five years commencing from the 5th of March, 1718,
the landing-places remaining the same, A new ferry
was also established, the landing-places on the New York
shore being at Hanover Square, and at the Great Dock,
near Broad street. This dock extended along Pearl
street from Whitehall to Coenties Slip. The Broad street
sewer flowed through it and emptied into the river.
In 1718, Gilbert Livingston, Thomas Grant, Patrick
Mac Knight and John Nicolls purchased a piece of
ground in Wall street, near the City Hall, for the site of
a church in behalf of the Presbyterians of the city ;
and asked permission of the Corporation to hold' reli-
gious service in the hall until their church should be
finished. The request was granted, on condition that
they should in no wise interfere with the courts. The
structure was erected the following year, and was the
first Presbyterian church ever buiit in New York.
In 1718, the first ropewalk was built along Broadway,
between Barclay street and Park Place. These institu-
tions afterwards became popular in New York and its
vicinity, and formed the basis of a flourishing trade.
About the same time, another boon was conferred upon
this country by the introduction of the potato into
America by a colony of Irish emigrants who had settled
at Londonderry, in Maine. The culture was rapidly
extended, and it was not long before the valuable
esculent became naturalized among the farmers of
Manhattan, and ranked among the choicest products of
their soil.
During the thirteen months that intervened between
302 CITY OF NEW YORK.
the departure of Hunter and the arrival of the new
governor, the government of the province was adminis-
tered by Peter Schuyler with great good sense and
judgment. Schuyler was a veteran in public affairs ; he
was popular among the Indians, to whom he had ever
been a faithful friend, and his influence over them,
joined with his counsels to the royal governors, had
many times saved the infant settlements fbom destruc-
tion ; and he now showed himself as well fitted to rule as
he had been to counsel. He cemented the league anew
between the English and the Iroquois, which had well-
nigh been broken during the late warfare, and exerted
himself to the utmost to promote the peace and pros-
perity of the province.
In 1719, Jacobus Van Cortlandt was again appointed
mayor. He held the office for but one year — ^long
enough, however, to witness the installation of the new
governor. On the 17th of September, 1720, William
Burnet, the newly-appointed governor of New York
and New Jersey, arrived at New York. Peter Schuyler
immediataly resigned the direction of affairs, a new
council was chosen, and Governor Burnet assumed the
charge of the welfare of the province and city.
CHAPTER X.
1730-1732.
Aflkln of tbe City under William Burnet— Snppressioii of the Circnttons TralBc— The
Montgomerie Charter— If ew York in the Middle of the Eighteenth Century.
William Bubnbt, the new governor, was the son of the
celebrated Bishop Burnet and had served in England as
comptroller of the customs previously to receiving this
new appointment. He was a man of fine talents,
polished manners, and comprehensive intellect, less
avaricious than colonial governors were wont to be, and
frank and outspoken almost to excess. Soon after his
arrival, he married Miss Van Home, the daughter of a
leading merchant of the city, and thus identified his
interests with those of his subjects. By the advice of
Hunter, he forbore to dissolve the pliant Assembly which
had been convened through the efforts of Morris, and the
same body continued in existence for a period of eleven
years. As a proof of their appreciation of this favor, the
Assembly at once voted the governor a five years'
revenue.
On his arrival in the province, Burnet at once attached
himself to Morris, who continued his fast friend during
304 HISTORY OP THE
Portrait of Cadwallader Coldeo.
his administration. He ako formed a friendship with
James Alexander, whom we have already mentioned, and
Cadwallader Golden, the surveyor-general and master in
chancery of the province, who had settled in the city two
years before, and who was destined to exert an impor-
tant influence on its future history. Cadwallader Golden
was a Scotch physician of fine talents and thorough edu-
cation, who settled at Philadelphia soon after his gradu-
ation from the University of Edinburgh, and commenced
the practice of medicine. He afterwards went to
Europe, where he married and resided for a short time,
then returned in 1716 to his practice in Philadelphia
In 1718, he removed to New York, where he obtained
CITY OF NEW YORK. 305
an official appointment from his friend and countryman,
Qt)vernor Hunter, and took up his permanent abode.
These three men, with Schuyler, Smith and Living-
ston, were now the leading spirits of the province. The
council consisted of Peter Schuyler, Abraham de Peyster,
Robert Walters, Gerardus Beekman, Rip Van Dam,
Caleb Heathcote, John Barbaric, Frederick Philipse,
John Johnston, Francis Harrison, Mr. Byerly and Mr,
Clarke.
To give a clear idea of the events which signalized the
administration of Burnet, we must glance briefly at the
general position of afiairs in the province. It was the fixed
policy of the French government to gain control of the
Indian trade, both along the northern frontier and in the
regions of the Far West. This not only secured to them
a lucrative traffic, but furthered their ultimate design of
attaching the Indians to themselves, and, with their aid,
rendering themselves masters of the province. For this
end, Jesuit missionaries had long been mingling with the
wandering tribes, seeking to secure them through con^-
version to the interests of France. Forsaking the com-
forts of civilized life, the devoted and adventurous
disciples of Loyola penetrated the unknown regions of
the West, and, skillfully ingratiating themselves with the
sons of the forest, established missions where the foot of
white man had never before trod, and laid open the
inmost recesses of the wilderness to the march of civiliz-
ation. In 1675, La Salle had founded Fort Frontenac
at the entrance of the Ontario ; then, with Tonti and
Hennepin, had pushed his explorations to the distant
regions of the Mississippi. The missionaries and traders
20
306 HISTORY OF THE
followed in the path thus opened to them by Jesuitical
enterprise, and the Indian territory was soon everywhere
traversed by the indefatigable emissaries- of the French
government. In the beginning of Burnet's administra-
tion, the Chevalier de Joncaire, himself a Jesuit and a
man of noble birth and fine talents, who, having been
made captive by the Senecas, had won their favor and
been adopted into their tribe, established a permanent
trading-post at Fort Frontenac, from which he designed
to command the region of the Mississippi through the
medium of the western traders.
As the goods sold by the French traders were mostly
of English manufacture, and purchased in the city of
New York, the merchants were well satisfied with an
arrangement which enabled them to dispose of large
quantities of goods with very little risk or trouble to
themselves. But Burnet, who had studied the position
of affairs attentively before his departure from England,
comprehended the ultimate result of this dangerous
policy, and saw clearly that the safety of the province
depended on establishing a line of English trading-posts
along the northern frontier, and thus counteracting the
designs of the French government. Through the influ-
ence of Lewis Morris, he prevailed upon the first Assem-
bly that convened after his arrival to put an end to the
circuitous traffic by passing a bill prohibiting all sales of
goods to the French, under penalty of the forfeiture of
the articles, with an additional fine of one hundred
pounds. This bill was warmly opposed by the mer-
chants interested in the traffic, who, thinking only of the
present, viewed it as a death-blow to their lucrative
CITY OP NEW YORK. 307
farade. They complained loudly of the governor's con-
duct to the Board of Trade, and it was only through
the earnest eflForts of Cadwallader Golden, who warmly
espoused the new policy, that this important measure
was finally sustained.
In 1722, Governor Burnet commenced the erection of
a trading-post at Oswego, and from this may be dated
the foundation of that profitable fur traffic which formed
the basis of so many colossal fortunes. This opening of
a new path in commerce wrought a revolution in the
aims and lives of the young men of the city. These
youths, instead of remaining, as formerly, behind their
fathers' counters or entering the beaten track of the
West India trade, now provided themselves with a stock
of guns and blankets, and set out with a trusty servant
in a bark canoe to . explore the pathless wilderness.
Here they roamed for months in the primeval forests,
forced at every step to turn aside to avoid some deadly
reptile or fierce beast of prey, or to guard against the
wiles of an insidious foe, ever on the alert to entrap
them in some snare, and to purchase their goods at the
expense of their lives. Forced to depend for their sub-
sistence on the quickness of their eye and the sureness^^
of their aim, to journey by day through thicket and
marsh, over cataract and rapid, to sleep at night with »o
other canopy than the stars and sky, and to be constantly
on their guard against the unseen danger which was^
lurking everywhere about them, this forest education
called forth all their resources of courage and sagacity,
and they came from the trial with muscles of iron, nerves
of steel, and a hand and eye that never flinched; before
308 HISTORY OF THB
the most deadly peril. No fiction of romance can sur-
pass the adventurous career of these daring travellers
who thus pursued the golden fleece in the wilds of
America ; and those who came forth from this school of
danger were well fitted to play their part in the
approaching tragedies of the French and Indian war and
the drama of the coming Revolution.
In the same year of the establishment of the Oswego
trading-post, a congress composed of the governors of
New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, with deputies from
the other colonies, assembled at Albany to consult toge-
ther in respect to the war. This congress framed a me-
morial to the English government, urging the erection of
the projected line of trading-posts as the only means of
thwarting the policy of the French and securing the
safety of the English provinces. No attention was paid
to their request, and the scheme that would have pro-
tected the colony from the future ravages of the French
and Indians was at length reluctantly abandoned by the
.disappointed governor.
>Ieanwhile, the usual bickerings had continued to
exist between the governor and the Assembly. This
body^ so friendly to him on his arrival, had in part been
alienated by his recent policy. The merchants engaged
in the circuitous trade spared no pains to assail him in
'public and private, and a powerful opposition was thus
excited against him. A dispute in which he became
involved in 1724 with Stephen De Lancey, a wealthy
merchant and a patron of the French Huguenot church
in Pine street, increased the difficulty. A portion of the
congregation, headed by Mr. De Lancey, becoming dis-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 309
satisfied with the Rev. Louis Kou, the pastor of the
church, dismissed him on the charge that he had flagged
in his duty, and had introduced innovations into the
church discipline. M. Rou and his friends appealed from
this decision to the governor and council, who sustained
ihem in opposition to the party of De Lancey, and
decided that the malcontents had no right to dismiss
their minister. The afiFair caused great excitement;
indignant memorials were published on both sides, and
the opposition party which had been raised against the
the governor by the suppression of the French trade,
received new accessions from day to day. Soon after,
De Lancey was elected as member of the Assembly,
when Burnel refused to administer the oaths to him,
alleging that he was not a subject of the crown. De
Lancey, who. though born in France, had left it before
the revocation of the edict of Nantes, insisted that he
had received a patent of denization in England under
the hand and seal of James 1 [., and the Assembly sus-
tained his claims against the governor.
The five years' revenue granted on the arrival of
Burnet having expired, the Assembly refused to renew
it for a longer term than three years. This was the
same Assembly that had been elected under the auspice^?
of Hunter, but its character and disposition had widely
changed. Several of the best friends of the governoi
had died, and their places had been filled by new
members; the suppression of the circuitous trade had
alienated many more, and the once pliant Assembly had
grown harsh and unyielding. Burnet at length dissolved
the body; but the new Assembly that convened in 1727
310 HISTORY OF THE
proved still more refractory. This was made up mostly
of the friends of the French trade, men whose interests
were directly affected by its suppression, and who were
chiefly anxious to procure a repeal of the obnoxious act
and thus to thwart the poUcy of Burnet. The continu-
ance of the Court of Chancery, instituted by Hunter, also
gave rise to general dissatisfaction, which was greatly
increased by his assumption of the chancellorship. After
a short session, he dissolved them as incorrigible. But
their efforts did not stop here ; his commission expiring
soon after, on the death of George I., they represented
to the ministry that the interests of the province
demanded a new governor. Their arguments were lis-
tened to ; Burnet was transferred against his wishes to
the government of Massachusetts, and John Montgomerie
was appointed his successor. In 1729, the obnoxious act
was repealed, the circuitous trade again estabhshed, and
the ulterior designs of the French government thus aided
unwittingly by the merchants of New York.
Burnet was a man of fine talents, but his was the mis-
fortune of not being understood. Had he been ably
seconded in the schemes which he sought to execute, he
would have saved the province from the horrors of future
warfare and insured its peace and prosperity. Of a dif-
ferent stamp from his rapacious predecessors, he spared
neither time nor money m the fulfillment of his projects
for the public good. The trading-post at Oswego was
built in part from his private fortune — a debt which was
never repaid by the English government — and he left
the province poorer than he had entered it. He was of
literary tastes, polished manners and a genial tempera-
CITY OP NEW YORK. Sll
ment, and, but for the unhappy dissensions engendered
by his system of policy, would have been one of the
most popular of the colonial governors. Under his
auspices, the era of journalism was first commenced in
the city by the New York Gazette, published in 1725 by
William Bradford, the government printer. This was a
half-sheet paper, and was -printed once a week. It was
increased to four pages during the following year.
We will now glance at the progress of the city dur-
ing the past eight years. The changes in this time had
neither been marked nor numerous. The city had
increased in population to nearly eight thousand inhabit-
ants, and the vacant lots were gradually becoming filled
up and peopled. In the first year of Burnet's adminis-
tration, Robert Walters, a Holland merchant, who had
long filled a prominent position in the city, was chosen
mayor. He was also a member of the council both
of Burnet and Montgomerie ; was a devoted adherent
of the Leislerian party, and a popular man among the
democracy. He retained the oflSce of mayor for five
years. Little worthy of note occurred during his admin-
istration, the principal event of which was the publica-
tion of Bradford's newspaper in 1725, of which we have
already spoken. Various municipal ordinances concern-
ing the restriction of negroes, etc. were enacted, but
they were but modifications of those which we have
already noticed.
In 1725, Johannes Jansen, a merchant of Holland
origin, was appointed mayor. He retained the oflSce for
but one year, when he was succeeded by Robert Lurting,
a shipping merchant, who had long been actively
312 HISTORY OF THE *
engaged in politics, and had acted as alderman for sev-
eral years. He retained the office until his death in 1735.
On the 15th of April, 1728, John Montgomerie
arrived as governor and chancellor of New York and
New Jersey. Montgomerie had been groom of the bed-
chamber to the Prince of Wales, now George XL
Though bred a soldier, he was of a yielding and indolent
temperament, and his antecedents had not certainly been
calculated to fit him for the important command which
was now intrusted to him. He came charged to carry
out the policy of the late governors, and to sustain the
Court of Chancery ; but he shrank from the task, and
only assumed the chancellorship when specially com-
manded ; and then under protest and avowedly as a mat-
ter of form. The citizens gave him a cordial welcome.
On the day after his arrival, the mayor and corporation
presented him the freedom of the city in a gold box ; and
at their first session, the Assembly granted him the five
years' revenue which they had so persistently refused to
the late governor. Affairs glided on smoothly enough
during his administration, the principal event in it being
the grant of an amended city charter in 1730. By this
charter, the limits of the city were made to comprehend
four hundred feet below low- water mark on the Hudson
River from Minetta Brook or Bestavers Killitje south-
ward to the fort, thence the same number of feet
beyond low-water mark round the fort and along the
East River as far as the north side of Corlear's Hook, the
west side of Pearl street being reserved for the use of
the fort. The sole power of establishing ferries about
the island, with all the profits accruing therefrom, was
CITY OF NEW YORK. 313
grunted to the corporation, the rates of ferriage to be
fixed by the governor and council or by an act of the
Assembly. A grant and confirmation was also given
them of the lands held by them on Long Island, including
the ferry, ferry-house and appurtenances. The market-
houses, docks, slips and wharves with all the profits
arising from them were granted to the city. The
appointment of subordinate officers was given to the
mayor, with the advice and consent of the common
council. Provision was made for a court of common
plea^^ to be held on every Tuesday in the year by the
mayor or his deputy, with two or more aldermen, power
being given them to adjourn the same for a period not
exceeding twenty-eight days. Authority was given to
the mayor or recorder, with a majority of the aldermen
and assistants, to meet and make or repeal such by-laws
and ordinances as they might deem fit — such ordinances
to continue in force a twelvemonth unless repealed.
Provision was made for a new division of the city into
seven wards, the limits to be hereafter determined by
the common council, each ward to choose the usual num-
ber of officers annually, with such a number of constables
as the common council might direct, and to be the sole
judge of the election and qualifications of its own offi-
cers. The mayor, recorder and aldermen were consti-
tuted justices of the peace for the city and county of
New York, with power to hear and determine all pleas
of forty shillings and under, and to nominate and
appoint proper officers for that court. The mayor,
recorder and three or more of the aldermen were
invested with power to administer oaths to freemen and
314 UISTOEY OF THE
oflScers of the city, and to make as many freemen as
they should see fit ; also to hold general quarter sessions
for the city and coimty, the mayor, recorder and eldest
alderman constituting the quorum. Power was given to
the corporation to erect necessary public buildings and
to appoint the proper officers ; also, to sue for their law-
ful dues and demands in the name of their chamberlain.
The petition of the common council that the offices of
mayor, recorder, sheriff, coroner and town-clerk might
henceforth be elective was refused by the governor after
some consideration, and these officials continued as here-
tofore to be appointed by the governor and council.
The mayor was appointed clerk of the market for the
time being. The jurisdiction of the city was fixed to
begin at King's Bridge, thence to run down by the main-
land to the point within the shortest distance from Long
Island, including Great and Little Barn Island ; thence,
crossing to low- water mark on the Long Island shore, to
extend down by the same mark to Red Hook ; thence to
rim on a straight line to the lower end of the southern-
most Oyster Island ; thence to extend northerly along
the west side of the three Oyster Islands up the Hudson
to Spiking Devil or Spuyten Devil Creek, and thence
along low-water mark to King's Bridge, the place of
beginning. The grant of all the waste and unappro-
priated lands of the island, which had been made to the
city by the Dongan charter of 1686, was again con-
firmed by the new charter. The wharves along the
shores were required to be made forty feet broad, both
for the greater convenience of trade, and to fit them for
the erection of batteries, the government reserving the
CITY OP NEW TORK. 316
right of planting these in case of necessity. The quit-
rent was fixed at ten shillings over and above the for-
mer quit-rents. Such was the substance of the con-
ditions of the Montgomerie charter.*
In the first year of Montgomerie's administration, a
Jewish cemetery was first established in the city. This
was boimded by Chatham, Oliver, Henry and Catherine
streets, and was given in 1729 by Noe Willey of London
to his three sons, merchants in New York, to be held as
a burial-place^ for the Jewish nation forever. But the eye
of the old Hebrew could not pierce into futurity ; the
trust was violated many years ago, and warehouses now
cover the site once destined as a final resting-place for
the Jewish Rabbis. Several years previously, a Jewish
synagogue had been erected in Mill street.
The city was gradually extending its limits, and the
powder-house which had been built a few years before on
the Commons began to be considered as an unsafe place
of deposit for the powder which was stored there. A
new magazine was accordingly determined on, and after
some deUberation, the corporation selected a pretty little
island in the Fresh Water Pond as the most available
location, and erected a storehouse there in 1728 for the
safe keeping of the explosive material.
The Garden street church having become full to over-
flowing, a portion of the congregation determined to
colonize, and, in 1726, purchased a lot of ground on the
corner of Nassau and Liberty, then Crown street, and
commenced the erection of the Middle Duteh church.
* For further details see the original charter, Appendix, Note A.
316 HISTO.RY OF THE
But ere long the undertaking came to a full stop for
want of funds, and, in 1729, the congregation applied to
the governor for a license to make a collection in aid of
its completion. This was granted ; the money wiis soon
raised, and the church was finished and opened in the
course of the same year. It was at first without a
gallery; the pulpit was on the east, side, and two doors
opened on the west. For the first thirty years, the ser-
vices were performed exclusively in the Dutch language,
after which the English service was used half the time,
much to the dissatisfaction of the sires of the congre-
gation. In 1776, the pews were torn out and used for
fuel, while the church became the prison-house of three
thousand Americans. When no longer desired for this
purpose, it was converted into a riding-school for the
British cavalry, and the walls which had so often
reechoed the fervent prayers of the pious dominies now
rang with the caracolling of steeds and the jests of the
soldiery. Adjoining it, in Liberty street, stood the old
sugar-house, built in 1689 in the days of Leisler, and also
Old Sagar Honae in Liberty Street, the Prison House of the Ut'voluiion.
CITY OP NEW YORK.
317
^0 tkeyCorwumhls
RIP VAN DAM.E£2:
Uidjle Datch Cliurch in 0!Jea Time. ( Nuw thi Post-offlce.)
CITY OF NEW YORK. 319
transformed into a prison for the patriots. After the close
of the war, both buildings returned to their original use.
The sugar-house was levelled in 1840 before the inarch
of modern improvements ; the church still stands, the
general post-oflSce of the city of New York.
Soon after the erection of the Middle Dutch church, it
was proposed to extend the city on the west side by rescu-
ing Greenwich and Washington streets from the waters ;
and they were ordered to be surveyed and laid out above
the Battery along the lines of high and low- water mark ;
the high-water mark to be the centre of one street, and
the low-water mark, the centre of the other. It was
also determined to establish three new slips, one opposite
Morris street, another opposite Exchange Place, and a
third opposite Rector street. The streets, however,
were not built upon imtil several years after. A line of
stages was established between New York and Phila-
delphia, to run once a fortnight during the winter months,
and proposals were issued for a foot post to Albany.
In 1729, a library of 1,622 volumes, which had been
bequeathed by the Rev. John Millington, Rector of New
ington, England, to the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts, was presented by them to
the city for a public library. To these was added a col-
lection presented in 1700 by the Rev. John Sharp, chap-
lain of Lord Bellamont, and the whole was opened to
the public under the supervision of the latter gentleman
as "the Corporation Library." But the librarian died
soon after, and the books wer^ neglected and almost for-
gotten untQ 1754, when a number of public-spirited
citizens organized themselves into a body and founded
320 HISTORY OP THB
the Society Library, obtaining permission from the Com-
mon Council to add the Corporation Library to their col-
lection and to deposit their books in the City Hall. Here
the library continued to increase wid prosper. In 1772,
a charter was granted it by George IIL under the name
of the New York Society Library, and under the new
impetus given it by this incorporation, it flourished till
all thoughts of literary enterprise were banished by the
general stagnation of the Revolution. The city fell into
the hands of the British and the library into the hands
of the British soldiery ; and, in the scenes of Yandalism
which followed, the choice and valuable collection which
had been gathered with so much care, was scattered,
mutilated and almost totally destroyed. For fourteen
years, the library was neglected by its founders in the
excitement of the struggle for liberty ; then, in 1783,
when peace was finally declared, the scattered elements
of the society reunited, and, reviving their charter, once
more commenced the collection of books. In 1793, a
library building was erected in Nassau street, which was
at that time considered one of the architectural lions of
the city. But the collection soon outgrew its new quar-
ters, and, removing tenaporarily into the Mechanics'
Society building in Chambers street, continued there
until the completion of the new library on the corner of
Broadway and Leonard streets in 1840. Hardly was it
established here when the upward rush of business forced
it again to vacate this and to seek a new resting-place in
the upper part of the town. For a tijne, it established
itself in the Bible House in A«tor Place, then removed,
in 1867, to its new edifice in University Place between
CITY OF NEW YORK. 821
Twelfth and Thirteenth street, which seems spacious
enough for all present exigencies. Such was the rise
and progress of the first pubUc library of New York.
But we must return from our present surroundings to
the days of olden time. At thi* period, markets were
notable institutions. They were established at the foot
of almost every street along the East River. Several
market-places were to be found in the heart of the city,
the upper end of Broad street was a public stand for
country wagons, and a market occupied the centre of
Broadway, opposite Liberty street. In 1732, another
market-house was erected at the fi)ot of Fulton street on
the North River side for the accommodation of country-
men from Jersey.
Changes were also wrought in the lower part of the
city. We have before noticed th^ erection of a battery
on the rocks near Whitehall slip. This name originated
in a large store on the comer of Whitehall and State
streets, erected by Petrus Stujrvesant during his admin-*
istration, and known to the people of that day as ''the
Stuyvesant Huys." It afterwards fell into the hands of
Governor Dongan, who christened it "the White Hall."
This subsequently became the Custom House of the city.
Adjoining this was the store in which Jacob Leisler had
transacted business during his lifetime, and from which
that part of Whitehall between State and Pearl streets
had at one time been known as Leisler street. Oppo-
site Whitehall street, in the block bounded by Whitehall,
Pearl, Moore and State streets, was an open space known
as " the Strand," and used as a market-place for coun-
try-wagons. In 1732, this space, having grown too val-
21
322 HISTORY OF THE
uable to be used for such a purpose, was divided into
seven lots and sold at auction at prices ranging from one
hundred and fifty-six to two hundred and seventy-nine
pounds sterling. In the same year, the vacant space in
front of the fort which had hitherto been used for a
market-place, parade-ground, and similar purposes, was
leased to Frederick Philipse, John Chambers, and John
Roosevelt, for ten years, at a yearly rent of a pepper-
corn, to be used as a bowling-green. Soon after, Pearl
street, the ancient cow-path, which led from the settle-
ment to the common pasture, and along the line of
which houses had sprung up without regard to mathe-
matical squares and angles, was regulated, so far a^
regulation was possible, and established as a public
road.
" The Commons," 6f which we have spoken before,
consisted originally of nearly a square piece of ground,
bounded on the east and west by Nassau street and
Bro«adway, and on the north and south by Chambers and
Ann streets. Through this paased the post-road, the
present Chatham street, cutting oflf a triangle on the east
side, a part of which was used for public amusements
and was known as **the Vineyard." The present Park
was a level plain, so level indeed that it came to be
known as '' the Vlackte," or ** Flat ;" a name which still
lives in the memory of our oldest inhabitants. For
many years, this was the place of public execution, the
gallows standing near the present Hall of Records.
North of this lay the Fresh Water Pond, with its
neighboring district of the Collect or Kalch-Hook. This
name, which finally came to be applied to the pond
CITY OP NEW YORK. 328
itself, was originally given by the Dutch settlers to a
point of land on the shores of the pond of about forty-
eight acres in extent, the site of an old Indian village.
The Fresh Water Pond was one of those traditional
ponds which are found in every village, reputed to have
no bottom — a reputation which it failed to sustain against
the researches of modem times. The pond was, indeed,
very deep ; deep enough, in fact, to have floated the
largest ships in the navy. Its waters were filled with
roach and sunfish, and to preserve these, the city authori-
ties passed an ordinance in 1734, forbidding any person to
fish in it with nets, or in any other way than angling.
But the beautiful pond has passed away, and the spot
where its sparkling waters once played is now filled by
the ** Halls of Justice " with its gloomy prison cells.
Below the Commons, on the east side of the city, was
** the Swamp," in the vicinity of Ferry street, a low
groimd, covered with tangled briers. This tract was
sold in 1734 for two hundred pounds to Jacobus Roose-
velt, who laid out the groimd into fifty lots and established
several tanneries on it. This was indicative of its future
destiny, for it has ever since remained the seat of the
leather business of New York.
South of this region lay two estates known as the ** Shoe-
" makers' Land," and ** VandercliflF's orchard," the first of
which we have already described. The Vanderclifi*
farm, which was bounded on the east and west by the East
River and the Shoemakers' Land, and on liie north and
south by Beekman street and Maiden Lane, was origin-
ally owned by Hendrick Rycker, who sold it in 1680 to
Dirck Vandercliff. The new proprietor continued to
824 HISTORY OF THE
reside on it until his death, after which it was divided
into lots, which were sold at prices ranging from twenty
to thirty pounds each. This tract hecame classic ground
in the days of the Revolution, und^ the more euphoni-
ous name of Gblden Hill. Cliff street still preserves a
part of the ancient title^
Along the Bowery road lay Stcenwyck's orchard,
Heerman's orchard, aiid the w©fi-*known Stuyvesant
** bouwerie," whence it derived its name. Near the
latter, in the neighborhood of the present Grammercy
Park, was '* Crummashie HilL" Above this, lay the
Zant-berg hills, with Minetta brodk, winding its way
through the marshy vaJley on the other side to its outlet
in the North River ; and still further to the north, in
the vicinity of Thirty-sixth street and Fourth Avenue,
was the Indeuberg, or Beacon Hill, the Murray Hill of
modern times, which commaiided ai view of the whole
island.
On the lands of Nidiolaa Bayard, in the vicinity of
Grand and Centre streets rose Bayard's Moimt, after-"
wards known as Moimt Pleasant and Bunker's HilL
From this, the Crown Point road stretched along the line
of Grand street to Crown Poin:t or Corlear's Hook, once
the farm of Jacobus Van Corlaer, passing over Jones'
Hill, at the junction of Grand and Division streets. Near
the Collect rose the Potters' Hill, at the foot of which
flowed the Quid Kill, convejring the waters of the pond
through the marshy Wolfert's Valley, to their outlet in
the East River. This valley derited its name from its <Hrig-
inal proprietor, Jacob Wolfertsen Van Couwenhoven.
A bridge was thrown across the stream, near the junction
CITY OF NEW YORK.
325
J
CITY OP NBW YORK. 327
of Roosevelt and Chatham streets, for the accommoda-
tion of travellers. This creek, with the Fresh Water
Pond and the great Lispenard Meadows at the north-
west, formed a chain of waters quite across the island.
On the west side of Broadway above Trinity Church
was the King's Arms Tavern, the principal inn of the
city, and the head-quarters of the anti-Leislerian party.
Its grounds were extensive, running down to the river
and stretching a considerable distance along Broadway.
North of this were the estates of Van Cortlandt and Dey,
and above these the old King's Farm, which had originally
been the property of the Dutch West India Company,
then, falling, in 1664, into the hands of the English
captors, had been increased by the purchase of the
estate of Aneke Jans, and had afterwards been presented
to Trinity Church by Queen Anne. In 1720, the
southern part of this farm was surveyed and laid out
into streets which were named in honor of the various
church dignitaries. At this time, Broadway extended
no further than its junction with Chatham street.
In 1731, the city was divided into seven wards in con-
formity with the provisions of the Montgomerie charter.
In the same year, the first step..- were taken towards
organizing a Fire Department on a permanent basis.
Hitherto, the means for extinguishing fires had been of
the most primitive kind — a few leather buckets, a cou-
ple of fire-hooks and poles, and seven or eight ladders
constituting the sum total. In the early part of the
eighteenth century, fire engines were successfully intro-
duced into England, and in 1731, the corporation of
New York resolved to import two for the use of the city.
B2% CITY OP ««W TOBK.
Tikis was accordingly done, and a room in*the City Hall
was fitted up for tlo^eir reoeption> In 1736, an engine-
kouse was built in Broad streeit, and a wutract made
with Jacobus Turk to keep tiie engines dew and in
good order for the sum of tea pounds per annum. In
1737, a Fire Department was <H*ganized and twenty-five
members enrolled, who, in oonsideration of their ser*-
vices, were excused from performing military duty or
from serving as constables, jurors, or fiurvejors of hi^*
ways.
On the 1st of July, 1731, Governor Mon^merie died,
after a peaceful administration of two years, and was
succeeded by Rip Van Dam, the eldest member of the
council. Mr. Yan Dam was oi Holland origin, his father
having settled in the city in the days of Stuyvesant. He
was engaged in commerce, like most of the leading men
of the time, and carried on an extensive foreign trade ;
amd had been for several years a member of the council
when called to the head of affairs by the sudden death
of the governor. Little occurred worthy of note during
the thirteen months of his administration. At the end
of that time, Colonel WilUam Cosby arrived as his suc-
cessor.
CHAPTER XI.
173a-174L
Thb citizens gained as little by the change in the gov-
anuaent as did the frogs in the &ble by parting with
Kiiag Log. Unlike the yielding and good-natured Mont-
gomerie, Cosby was testy, despotic, and rapacious withaL
A short time previously, when governor of Minorca, he
had been detected in a fraudulent transaction, the odium
c[ which had caused his recall. But he had served the
interests of the colonists while in England by opposing
w obdozioiis sugar bill proposed by the Board of Trade
•^--^xi act which disposed them to receive him as a friend.
Under the influence of this feeling, the Assembly that
was in session at his arrival, cheerfully granted him a
revenue for six years, and presented him with seven
hundred and fifty pounds as a token of gratitude for his
opposition to the obnoxious bill. But the smallness of
the sum incensed the governor. '' Why did they not
add the shillings and pence ?" asked he tauntingly of
ICwris, who was one of the council.
The first act of Cosby after his arrival in the province
330 HISTORY OP THE
was to produce a royal order, prescribing an equal
division of the salary, emoluments and perquisites of the
office since the time of his appointment, between himself
and Rip Yan Dam. Yan Dam declared his willingness
to comply with the order, and to divide the salary he
had received, which was a little less than two thousand
pounds ; but only on condition that Cosby should also
divide the six thousand pounds which he had received as
perquisites before reaching the province. Indignant at
the evident partiality to English favorites, the mass of
the people supported him in this posifion. It was obvi-
ous that if the English government could take a fairly
earned salary from the hands of an official and share it
with one who had done nothing to deserve it, there was
very little security for the rights of colonial subjects.
The citizens were growing weary of the rapacity of
English adventurers ; they saw that the interests of the
colonies were wholly disregarded by the home govern-
ment, and that they were chiefly valued as a means
whereby to repair the fortunes of spendthrift noblemen;
and, incensed beyond measure at this last act of tyranny,
they took a bold stand which shadowed forth their com-
ing resistance.
The council was at this time composed of Messrs.
Clark, Harrison, Horsmanden, Kennedy, Golden, Lane,
De Lancey, Cortlandt, Philipse and Livingston. Robert
Morris was chief justice of the Supreme Court, and
James De Lancey and Adolphus Philipse second and
third judges. James De Lancey 'was the son of the
Huguenot, Stephen De Lancey, whom we have already
seen figuring prominently in public affairs. He had
CITY OP NEW YORK. 331
been appointed by Governor Montgomerie to fill the
place in the council rendered vacant by the death of
John Barbarie, and it was not long before he was
numbered among the leading men of the province.
Adolphus Philipse was the son of Frederick Philipse of
Leislerian notoriety. Both were attached to the anti-
Leislerian or conservative faction, in opposition to
Morris, who was a warm adherent of the democratic
parly.
To recover the half of the salary which he claimed,
Cosby instituted proceedings against Van Dam before
the judges of the Supreme Court as barons of the
Exchequer ; a position in which they were entitled to
act by their commission. As Cosby himself was chan-
cellor ex officio^ and De Lancey and Philipse were known
as his intimate friends, William Smith and James Alex-
ander, who acted as Yan Dam's counsel, excepted to the
jurisdiction of the court in the case, and endeavored to
institute a suit at common law. Their plea was sup-
ported by Chief Justice Morris, but was overruled by
De Lancey and Philipse, and these two constituting a
majority, the cause of Van Dam was declared lost, and
he was ordered to pay half of his salary to the gover-
nor. Morris published his opinion, upon which Cosby
removed him from his oflfice, and appointed De Lancey
chief justice in his stead, without asking the advice
of the council. Van Dam and several others were also
suspended, and Cosby gained an apparent triumph.
This high-handed proceeding aroused the indignation
of the people, and murmurs of discontent pervaded the
city. *•! have great interest in England," said the
832 HiSTOBY 0^ th;b
governor, carelessly, wheu some of these reached his
ears. Yet this did not prevent him from sending a
justification of his conduct to the 3oard of Trade,
urging the necessity of arbitrary mea3ures in order to
preserve the king's prerogative, and jaccusiiig the people
of being tainted with ** Boston principles/'
The people, though defeated^ were not disposed to h^
silent. The contemptible meaapess of the whole affair
had excited their merriment as well as their indignation,
and squibs, lampoons aod satirical ballads hailed without
mercy upon the aristocratic party. In their train fol-
lowed the first newspaper controversy ever carried on in
Jfew York. We have already mentioned the publica<'
tion of the New York Gazette, by William Bradford, the
government printer. This, deriving its support from
the government, naturally espoused the cause of Cosby.
While the suit against Van Dam was in progress, John
Peter Zenger, a printer by trade, and collector of the
city taxes, set up a new paper called the New York
Weddy Jofwrmly^ which at once became the vehicle of the
oppositioix. The columns of the new journal were filled
from week Jo week with able and caustic articles,
satirizing the proceedings of the Court of Exchequer,
and assailing the acts of the government party. No one
was spared ; the governor, council ieind Assembly were
alike made to feel th^ sharp lash of the critic ; the
* This was the second newspaper pafoUshed in New fork, and was €nt iamed ca
the 5th of Korember, 19S8. Zenger was iwfginaUj a Pidatine orphan, i^ waa
Apprenticed to Bradford at ten jears of age. He published the Journal uQtfl his
death in 1746, after which it was continued by his widow, Catherine Zenger, till
December, 1748, when she resigned the pubHcation to hw soo, John Zenger. U
WHS discontinued in 1752, after an existence of ^eteen years.
I
CITY OP NEW YOBK. 333
permanent revenue, the Court of Chancery, the system
of taxation, anci all the otheif colonial grievances were
taken up and fearlessly discussed, and the attack was
carried on in a satirical vein, well calculated to enrage
the vietims beyond expression. The authorship of these
articles was generally attributed to the defeated coun-
cillors, William Smith and James Alexander. The peo-
ple were delighted teith the wit and pungency of these
missiles, but they were not relished quite so well by
the governor and council, who deemed them incendiary
productions, and as such, demanded the punishment
of the author. At a meeting of the council on the
2d of November, 1734, four numbers of the obnoxious
paper containing the alleged libels were ordered to be
burnt at the pillory by the hands of the common hang-
man, in presence of the mayor and aldermen. Robert
Lurting was ait this time mayor of the city. On the
presentation of the order at the quarter sessions, the
aldermen protested against it, and the court refused
to snfller it to be entered ; Francis Harrison, the
recorder, alone attempting to justify it by precedents
drawn from the English coarts. They even forbade the
himgman to execute the order ; and his place was sup-
plied by a negro slave of the sheriflF. The papers were
burned in the presence of Harrison and a few of the
partisaM of the governor, the magistrates unanimously
refusing to Witness the ceremony.
A few days after, Zenger was arrested, on the charge
of publishing seditious libels, thrown into prison, and
denied the use of pen, ink and paper. The jails at this
time, and indeed as late as 1760, were all under the
334 HISTORY OF THE
roof of the City Hall, in Wall street ; this building,
therefore, served as the prison of Zenger, His friends
procured a habeas corpus and insisted on his being
admitted to bail, when he was ordered by the court to
give bail for four hundred pounds, with two additional
sureties of two hundred pounds each. This was impos-
sible— he swore that, excepting the tools of his trade, he
was not worth forty pounds in the world, and the oath
procured his recommittal to prison. In the meantime,
he continued to edit his paper, giving directions to his
assistants through a chink in the door. His adversaries
replied through the columns of Bradford's Gazette, and
stiU more effectually, through the decrees of the courts
which they held at their disposal.
The grand-jury having refused to find an indictment
against the prisoner, on the 28th of January, 1735, the
attorney- general filed an information against him for a
false, scandalous, seditious and malicious libel. Smith
and Alexander were retained as his counsel. They
began by taking exceptions to the commissions of Chief
Justice De Lancy and Judge Philipse, because these com-
missions ran during pleasure instead of during good
behavior in conformity with the usual formula, and had
been granted by the governor without the advice or con-
sent of his council. The court refused to listen to the
plea, and to punish the audacity of the counsel for
framing it, ordered their names to be struck from the
list of attorneys.
At this time, there were but three lawyers of eminence
in the city — Smith, Alexander, and Murray; and the
latter of these being retained by the government party.
^
CITY OP NEW YORK. 335
Zenger was thus left destitute of any able counsel. This
was exactly what the court had wished and foreseen.
Determined to thwart this ingeniously concerted intrigue,
his friends secretly engaged the services of the vener-
able Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, then eighty years
of age, but in full possession of his faculties, and one of
the most distinguished barristers of the day. Hamilton
was imbued with the liberal principles that were fast
springing up on the soil of America, and had shown
himself earnest in opposing the despotic tyranny which
England was beginning openly to exert over her colonial
possessions. A more able or eloquent advocate could
scarcely have been found, and the scheme which had
been designed by the enemies of Zenger to insure his
ruin, ultimately proved the means of his salvation.
On the 4th of August, 1735, the court assembled in
the City Hall for the trial of the prisoner. The court-
room was crowded to excess, and the unexpected appear-
ance of the eloquent Hamilton as counsel for Zenger
filled the opposition party with astonishment and dis-
may. The trial came on in the Supreme Court, De Lan-
cey acting as chief justice, Philipse as second judge, and^^
Bradley ias attorney-general. John Chambers, who hacf'
been appointed by the court as counsel for the prisoner,
pleaded *' not guilty" in behalf of his chent, and obtained
a struck jury composed of Thomas Hunt, foreman, Stanley.
Holmes, Edward Mann, John Bell, Harmanus Rutgers,
Samuel Weaver, Egbert Van Borson, Andries Marsehalk,
Abraham Ketteltas, Benjamin Hildreth, Hercules Wen-
dover and John Goelet. As this trial possesses peculiar
interest to our readers as being the dawn of theBevolu-
336 HISTORY OF THB
tion in tlie city of New York, and the first vindicaticHi <tf
the freedom of the press in Americai we will transcribe
the alleged libels in full, that thej may the better eom^
prehend the force of the argmnents and the position of
affairs. The libels complained of read as follows :
'' Your appearance m print at last gives a pleasure to
' many, though most wish you had come fairly into the
' open field, and not appeared behind retrenchments
' made up of the supposed laws against libelling } these
' retrenchments, gentlemen, may soon be shown to you
' and all men to be very weak, and to have neither law
^ nor reason for their foundation, so cannot long stand
' you in stead ; therefore you had much better as yet
' leave them, imd come to what the people oi this cit^
' and province think on the points in question. They
' think as matters now stand that their liberties and
' properties are precarious, and that slavery is like to be
' entailed on them and their posterity if some past things
' be not amended, and this they collect from many past
*j>roceedings."
•'\One of our neighbcMrs of New Jeisey being in com-
^'.pany,^ observing the strangers of New York full of
^' cQQ^pli^iUts, endeavored to persuade them to remove
^'iintp JerAe^ ; to which it was i^eplied, that would
-'be leaping aut of the frying-pan into the fire ; ' for,'
''says he, 'we Jt^oth are under the same gpvernor, and
* your Assembly Jptfiye shown with a witness what is to be
' expected from tii^em/ One that was t^en moving from
' New York to Pejjnsylvania, to which place it is reported
' several considerable men are removing, expressed im
' very moving terms much concern for the circumstimces
CITY OF NEW YORK. 337
' of New York, and seemed to think them very much
' owing to the influence that some men had in the admin-
' istration, said he was now going from them, and was
* not to be hurt by any measures they should take ; but
* could not help having some concern for the welfare of
* his countrymen, and should be glad to hear that the
* Assembly would exert themselves as became them, by
* showing that they have the interest of the country
* more at heart than the gratification of the private views
* of any of their members, or being at all affected by the
' smiles or frowns of a governor ; both of which ought
* equally to be despised when the interest of their coun-
' try IS at stake. * You, ' says he, * complain of the lawyers,
* but I think that the law itself is at an end. We see
* men's deeds destroyed ; judges arbitrarily displaced ;
* new courts erected without consent of the legislature,
* by which it seems to me, trials by juries are taken away
* whenever a governor pleases, men of known estates
' denied their votes, contrary to the received practice of
* the best expositor of any law. Who is there in that
* province that can call anything his own, or enjoy any
'liberty longer than those in the administration will
* condescend to let them do it, for which reason I left
* it, as 1 believe more will.' "
Hamilton boldly admitted the publication of these
articles. "Theft the vei:dict must be for the king!"
exclaimed Bradley, triumphantly. Hamilton quietly
reminded him that printing and libelling were not syno-
nymous ternis, and was proceeding to prove the truth
of the charges contained in the alleged libels, when he
was interrupted by the attorney-general, on the plea
338 HISTORY OP THE
that the truth of a libel could not be taken in evidence.
** What is a libel r asked Hamilton in reply. ** What
'* the legal authorities declare it to be," returned Brad-
ley. ** Whether the person defamed be a private man,
"or a magistrate, whether living or dead, whether the
** libel be true or false, or the party against whom it is
** made be of good or evil fame, it is nevertheless a libel,
"and as such, must be dealt with according to law ; for
** in a settled state of government, every person has a
" right to redress for all grievances done him. As to its
" publication, the law has taken such great care of men's
" reputations that if one maliciously repeats it or sings it
** in the presence of another, or delivers a copy of it over
** to defame or scandalize the party, he is to be punished
** as the publisher of a libel. It is likewise evident that
"it is an offence against the law of God, for Paul hiin-
" self has said, * I wist not, brethren, that he was the
" high-priest ; for it is written, thou shalt not speak
*' evil of the ruler of thy people.' "
Continuing at length in the same strain of argu-
ment, he went on to demonstrate that Zenger had
been guilty of a gross offence against God and man in
attacking by words and innuendoes the sacred person of
royalty through its representative, the governor, and
quoted precedents to show that, whether true or false, a
libel remained the same in the eye of the law. Despite
the indignant protests of Hamilton, the court sustained
the sage conclusions of the attorney-general, and decided
that a libel was all the more dangerous for being true.
*' fter some brilliant sparring between the eloquent advo-
** v<5^ and Bradley and De Lancey, in which the two lat-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 839
ter gentlemen were decidedly worsted, Chambers, pro-
ceeded to address the jury in behalf of his client.
Hamilton followed in a brilliant speech, ridiculing with
biting sarcasm the decision of the court that truth only
made a libel the more dangerous; and insisting that the
jury were the judges both of the law and the fact, he
adjured them to protect their own liberties, now threat-
ened in the person of the persecuted Zenger. He quoted
the precedent of the Quakers in London, who, having
been shut out of their own meeting-house, preached to
three hundred of their persuasion in the streets, and
were afterwards indicted for disturbing the peace by
gathering together a tumultuous assembly. In this case,
the fact of the meeting being confessed, the court had
charged the jury to convict the prisoners ; but the jury
had asserted their right to judge of the character of the
assembly, and finding it neither tumultuous nor imlawful,
had returned a verdict of **not guilty." After urging
the evident analogy of this case to that of his client, ** It
"is very plain," said he, **that the jury are by law at
*' liberty (without any aflfront to the judgment of the
** court) to find both the law and the fact in our case.
** And may I not, too, be allowed to say that, by a little
** countenance, almost anything which a man writes may,
**with the help of that useful term of art, called an
•* innuendo, be construed to be a libel, according to Mr.
** Attorney's defitiition of it ; that whether the words are
** spoken of a person of public character, or of a private
"man, whether dead or living, good or bad, true or
** false, all make a libel, for, according to Mr. Attorney,
*' after a man hears a writing read, or reads or repeats
340 HISTORY OF THE
** it, or laughs at it, they all are punishable. It is true,
" Mr. Attorney is so good as to allow, after the party
'* knows it to be a libel ; but he is not so kind as to take
" the man's word for it.
** If a libel is understood in the large and unlimited
" sense urged by Mr. Attorney, there is scarce a writing
" I know that may not be called a libel, or scarce any per-
** son safe from being called to account as a libeller ; for
'' Moses, meek as he was, libelled Cain, and who is it that
" has not libelled the devil; for, according to Mr. Attorney,
*' it is no justification to say that one has a bad' name.
'* Echard has libelled our good King William. Burnet
**has libelled among others, King Charles and King
** James, and Rapin has libelled them all. How must a
** man speak or write, or what must he hear, read, or sing,
'* or when must he laugh, so as to be secure from being
" taken up as a libeller. I sincerely believe that were
*' some persons to go through the streets of New York
" now-a-days and read a part of the Bible, if it were
** not known to be such, Mr. Attorney, with the help of
*' his innuendoes, would easily turn it to be a libel. As
** for instance, the sixteenth verse of the ninth chapter of
** Isaiah : ' The leaders of the people (innuendo, the gov-
** emor and council of New York) cause them (innuendo,
" the people of this province) to err, and they (meaning
" the people of this province) are destroyed (iimuendo,
** are deceived into the loss of their liberty), which is the
** worst kind of destruction.' Or, if some person should
*' publicly repeat, in a manner not pleasing to his betters,
" the tenth and eleventh verses of the fifty-fifth chapter
** of the same book, then Mr. Attorney would have a
CITY OP NEW YORK. 341
** large field to display his skill in the artful application
'* of his innuendoes. The words are, *His watchmen are
** all blind, they are ignorant ; yea, they are greedy
*' dogs, that can never have enough.' But to make
** them a libel, no more is wanting than the aid of his
"skill in the right adapting of his innuendoes. As for
" instance, ' His watchmen (innuendo, the governor, coun-
" oil, and Assembly) are blind ; they are ignorant ♦
" (innuendo, will not see the dangerous designs of his
" excellency) ; yea they (meaning the governor and
" council) are greedy dogs which can never have enough
** (innuendo, of riches and power).' "
After dwelling on the fact that, laughable as these
illustrations might be, they were strictly analogous to
the charges against his chent, and urging the jury to
judge for themselves of the truth or falsehood of Zenger's
articles and to render their verdict accordingly, the elo-
quent barrister thus concluded his remarks : ** I am truly
" unequal to such an undertaking on many accounts.
" And you see I labor under the weight of many years,
" and am borne down by many infirmities of body ; yet,
" old and weak as I am, I should think it my duty, if
** required, to go to the utmost part of the land, where
'* my service could be of any use in assisting to quench
" the flame of prosecutions upon informations set on foot
** by the government to deprive a people of the right of
** remonstrating (and complaining too) against the arbi-
" trary attempts of men in power. Men who injure and
** oppress the people under their administration provoke
'* them to cry out and complain, and then make that
" very complaint the foundation for new oppressions and
342 HISTORY OP THE
'* prosecutions. I wish I could say there were no
'* instances of this kind. But to conclude, the question
** before the Court and you, gentlemen of the jury, is
** not of small or private concern ; it is not the cause of
** a poor printer, nor of New York alone which you are
** now trying. No ! it may, in its consequences, affect
** every freeman that lives under the British gov-
** ernment upon the main of America. It is the best
** cause ; it is the cause of liberty ; and I make no doubt
'* but your upright conduct this day will not only entitle
** you to the love and esteem of yoiur fellow citizens ; but
** every man who prefers freedom to a life of slavery,
** will bless and honor you as men who have baffled the
** attempts of tjrranny, and, by an impartial and incorrupt
'* verdict, have laid a noble foundation for securing to
'* ourselves, our posterity, and our neighbors, that to
** which nature and the laws of our country have given
*' us a right — the liberty of both exposing and opposing
** arbitrary power in these parts of the world at least by
*' speaking and writing truth."
The orator concluded amidst a burst of applause.
Every eye in the court-room glistened with admiration,
and every heart forgot the dead letter of the law in the
living inspiration of truth and patriotism. Wholly borne
down by this torrent of eloquence, Bradley attempted
but a brief reply, and De Lancey vainly charged the jury
that they were judges of the fact but not of the law,
and that the truth of the libel was a question beyond
their jurisdiction. Reason and common sense prevailed
for once over technicalities ; the jury withdrew, and
returned after a few minutes' deliberation, with the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 343
unanimous verdict of "not guilty." The court-room
rung with huzzas which the disappointed judges vainly
endeavored to suppress, and Hamilton was borne from
the hall by the exultant crowd to a splendid entertain-
ment prepared for his reception. The next day, a pubUc
dinner was given him by the whole city, at which the
corporation presented him with the freedom of the city
in token of their appreciation of his defence of the
rights of the people and the freedom of the press. A
magnificent gold box, in which to inclose the certificate,
was also purchased by private subscription and pre-
sented to him on the part of the citizens. On this was
engraved the arms of the city, encircled with the words,
'^DEMERSiE LEGES TIMEFACTA LIBERT AS — :HiEC TANDEM
** EMERGUNT ;" within a flying garter, '*NoN nummis,
" viRTUTE PARATUR f and on the front, *' Ita cuique
"eveniat ut de REPtJBLiCA MERUIT." The entertainment
over, Mr. Hamilton was escorted to the wharf by a crowd
of citizens, and entered the barge to return to Philadel-
phia under a triumphant salute of cannon.
Thus ended the celebrated Zenger trial, which
estabUshed the freedom of the press, and planted the
seeds which germinated among the people and sprung
up, like the sown dragon's teeth, a host of armed war-
riors. But its result was chiefly due to the brilliant
defence of its eloquent advocate ; and the daring political
principles, for the first time in America fearlessly avowed
in it, and as fearlessly maintained by an independent
jury in the face of an interested court and an arbitrary
governor, formed a precedent for resistance to oppres-
sion which ripened at last into the American Revolution.
344 HISTORY OP THE
The corporation, however, did not persist in their
independence, but obsequiously courted the favor of the
governor by waiting on his brother, Major Alexander
Cosby, and his son-in-law, Thomas Freeman, on their
arrival in the province, and, presenting them with the
freedom of the city in silver boxes, besides offering them
the most fulsome adulation. The veneration for nobility
was still existing in the minds of the citizens, and of the
officials most especially ; and they let slip no opportimity
of manifesthig it when it was not in direct opposition to
their rights or interests. Soon after the arrival of Cosby
and Freeman, Lord Augustus Fitzroy, the youngest son
of the Duke of Grafton, visited the governor. Hardly
had he landed, when the corporation waited on him in a
body, and, congratulating him on his safe arrival and
thanking him for having honored New York with his
presence, presented him with the freedom of the city in
a gold box. The mention of this occurrence is the most
important record found upon the minutes of 1732. The
same record also informs us that, while foiu'teen pounds
eight shillings was paid for this box, but ten pounds
could be afforded for the quarter's salary of the public
schoolmaster. This same Lord Augustus Fitzroy after-
wards became the hero of a romantic episode. Being a
youth of a susceptible temperament, he soon fell in love
with the governor's daughter. By the standard of society,
the match was beneath him, and though her parents
probably encouraged it in secret, they dared not give
their consent openly. A clergyman was secretly intro-
duced into the fort, and the marriage ceremony per-
formed without license. The affair gave great dis-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 345
pleasure to the friends of the young nobleman, who
accused Cosby of having inveigled him into an unequal
marriage, and the union proved an unhappy one in many
respects.
The check which Cosby had received in the Zenger
aflfair did not hinder him from further attempts against
the liberties of the people. He refused to dissolve the
Assembly, contrary to their own wishes and the petition
of the citizens, ordered a re-survey of the old grants and
patents in the hope of deriving a revenue from the fees,
and destroyed valuable documents which had been
intrusted to him by the corporation of Albany, and
which were obstacles in the way of his acquisitions. On
the 10th of March, 1736, his rapacity was suddenly
checked by his death. But, retaining his animosity to
the last, he called the members of his council together in
his chamber, and suspended Rip Van Dam, his former
antagonist, who, as the eldest member, was legally his
successor.
Upon the announcement of Cosby's decease, the coun-
cil assembled, and for the first time proclaiming the sus-
pension of Van Dam, proceeded to administer the oaths
of oflBce to George Clarke, the next in council. The
dedaxation of this fact was the signal for new dissensions.
As the eldest member of the council. Van Dam was
entitled to administer the government, and, knowing
himself to be popular, he demanded it as his right, claim-
ing the suspension to be invalid. The people, headed
by Morris, who had just arrived from England, whither
he had gone for the purpose of effecting the removal of
Cosby, rallied round their favorite, and exhibited such
346 HISTORY OF THE
unmistakable signs of hostility that Clarke hastily
retreated into the fort, and summoned the military to
his aid. Terrified at the threatening state of affairs,
he sent to Morris to ask his advice. '*If you don't
**hang them, they will hang you," was the significant
reply. But he did not need to have recourse to
such desperate measures, for, on the 14th of October,
dispatches arrived from England which confirmed him
in his authority and commissioned him to act as lieu-
tenant-governor,
Clarke, though born in England, had long been a resi-
dent of the colony. He was politic and sagacious, com-
prehending the spirit of the people and the best methods
of winning popularity. Knowing that he could only
hope to hold the ofl&ce imtil the appointment of a new
governor, and anxious in the meantime to secure a
princely fortune, his chief aim was to act in such a man-
ner as to ingratiate himself with both parties. His first
act was to dissolve the Assembly, and to restore Smith
and Alexander to the bar. Lewis Morris had previously
been appointed governor of New Jersey, now again
divorced from New York,
A new Assembly, consisting in great part of the
popular party, met in the summer of 1737, and many
important bills were passed during their first session.
But, despite the insinuating policy of the new lieutenant-
governor, they firmly refused to grant a revenue for a
longer time than one year, and this resolution was
strictly adhered to in future. One of the most significant
incidents in this session, as marking the popular prejudices
of the times, was an act disfranchising the Jews in the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 347
province. This fanatical proceeding was owing chiefly
to the eflForts of William Smith, the lawyer, who has
already figured so prominently in our pages.
We will now glance at the progress of the city during
the administration of the late governor. In 1734, the
first poor-house, of which we have already made men-
tion, was erected in the Commons on the site of the
future ** Old Alms-house.'' The building was forty-six
feet long, twenty-four feet wide and two stories high,
with a cellar, and was furnished with implements of
labor for the use of the inmates. The churchwardens
were appointed as overseers of the poor, and all paupers
were required to work imder penalty of receiving
moderate correction. Parish children were to be taught
there to read, write and cast accounts, and to be employed
in some useful labor ; and as the building was also a house
of correction, it was used as a sort of calaboose for
imruly slaves, their masters having permission to send
them thither for punishment. A large vegetable garden
was laid out about the house, which was cultivated by
the inmates, and the produce devoted to the use of the
institution. In the same year, Cortlandt street was first
surveyed and opened.
In 1735, Robert Lurting died, after having discharged
the duties of the mayoralty for nine years, and Paul
Richard was appointed in his stead. Mr. Richard was a
merchant of French extraction, his grandfather having
emigrated from France to New York in the early days
of the English' conquest. He retained the office for three
years. The first event of importance during his admin-
istration was the laying of the first stoue of the battery
348 HISTORY OF THE
Old Ferry Hoxue, Corner of Broad and Garden Streets.
upon the platform of the Whitehall rocks, a little to the
east of the Copsey Battery. This was performed with
great ceremony, the stone being laid by Governor
Cosby, in the midst of great rejoicings. But an
untoward event occurred to mar the festivity — a cannon
burst in firing a salute, killing John Syras, the high
sherifiF, Miss Cortlandt, daughter of the councillor, and
a son-in-law of Alderman De Riemer. The new works
were christened George Augustus' Royal Battery.
During the same year, the city watch was increased to
ten men and two constables, and additional precautions
were taken to prevent fires and to provide for the public
safety.
In 1737, Water street, which had received its name
the previous year, was extended from Fulton street to
Peck slip, a distance of four hu:idred feet. Trinity
church Wiis also enlarged, for the last time, on the north
and south sides, making it seventy-two feet in width and
a hundred and forty-six feet in length, including the
CITY OF NEW YORK
349
CITY OF NEW YORK
351
CITY OP NEW YOEK. 353
tower and chancel. The spire was one hundred and
eighty feet high. In 1739, its churchyard was enlarged,
and Rector street was opened to the city.
In 1738, a sort of quarantine was established at Bed-
low's Island. The smallpox was raging in South
Carolina as it had raged in New York seven or eight
years before, and the citizens, alarmed at the danger,
entreated that all suspected vessels should anchor at
Bedlow's Island nor be suflFered to discharge their
cargoes until they had first been visited and examined
by physicians. This was accordingly done, and the panic
soon ceased.
In 1739, Major Richard was succeeded by John
Cruger, a well-known merchant of the city, who had been
engaged in his early youth in the slave-trade, on the coast
of Africa ; and afterwards, abandoning this pursuit, had
settled in the city as a merchant and entered likewise
into public afiFairs. He continued in the mayoralty for
five years. During the first year of his administration,
a large market-house was erected in Broadway, opposite
Liberty street. Markets were now among the most
flourishing institutions of the city, and were under the
strict supervision of the municipal authorities, the mayor
himself usually oflSciating as clerk. During this year,
William Sharpas, the town-clerk, died, having served
the corporation in that capacity for a term of forty-seven
years.
The winter of 1740-1 was remembered for many years
as **the Hard Winter.'^ The intense cold continued
from the middle of November to the close of March.
The snow was six feet on a level, the Hudson was frozen
23
364 CITY OF MBW YORK.
at New York, and great suffering was felt among the
poor. But the severity of the season was a trifle in com-
parison with the cloud of terror and cruelty which was
now hovering in the horizon of New York. The evil
which the people had so long been cherishing in their
midst was now about to recoil upon them with conse-
quences which would long be remembered with horror.
The negro plot — that coimterpart of the Salem witch-
craft— was on the eve of its development; the details
we reserve for another chapter.
CHAPTER XII.
1741—1763.
The Negro Plot of 1741.
The negro plot of the city of New York will long con-
tinue to be classed in the foremost rank of popular
delusions, even exceeding in its progress and its fearful
cUnaitment, the celebrated Popish Plot concocted by
Titus Gates. At this distance, it is difficult to ascertain
how many grains of truth were mingled with the mass
of prejudice, .or to discover the wild schemes which may
have sprung up in the brains of the oppressed and excit-
able negroes, but certain it is that nothing can justify the
wholesale panic of a civilized commimity, or the indis-
criminate imprisonment and execution of scores of igno-
rant beings without friends or counsel, on no other evi-
dence than the incoherencies of a few wretches more
degraded than they, supported by the horror of a terror-
struck imagination. We shall endeavor to follow the
development of this singular plot clearly and simply,
leaving the reader to draw his own inference from the
facts and to determine how much credence should be
given the testimony.
356 HISTORY OF THE
At this time, New York contained about ten thousand
inhabitants, nearly one- fifth of whom were negro slaves.
Since the first introduction of slavery into the province
in the days of Wilhelm Kieft, it had increased and
flourished to an alarming extent. Every householder
who could afibrd it was surrounded by negroes, who were
contemptuously designated as **the black seed of Cain,"
and deprived, not only of their liberty, but also of the
commonest rights of humanity. We have already
adverted to some of the laws established from time to
time in respect to these unfortunate beings. These
ordinances were of the most stringent character. '* All
** blacks were slaves,'' says a late historian, *' and slaves
** could not be witnesses against a freeman. They were
** incapable of buying anything, even the minutest neces-
** sary of life ; they were punishable by master or mistress
" to any extent short of life and limb ; as often as three
"of them were found together, they were punished with
"forty lashes on the bare back; and the same legal
"liability attended the walking with a club outside the
" master's grounds without a permit. Two justices might
"inflict any punishment short of death or amputation
"for a blow or the smallest assault upon a Christian or
" a Jew." Such was the spirit of the laws of the times.
It had been the constant policy, both of the Dutch and
English governments, to encourage the importation of
slaves as much as possible ; the leading merchants of the
city were engaged in the traffic, which was regarded by
the public as strictly honorable, and, at the time of which
we speak, New York was literally swarming with negroes,
and presented all the features of a present Southern
CITY OF NEW YOEK. 357
city, with its calaboose^on the Commons and its market-
place at the foot of Wall street. The people were
not blind to the possible danger from this oppressed
yet powerful host that was silently gathering in their
midst, and the slightest suspicious movement on the part
of the negroes was suflBcient to excite their distrust and
alarm. Since the supposed plot of 1712, of which we
have already spoken, a growing fear of the slaves had
pervaded the city, and the most stringent measures had
been adopted to prevent their assemblages and to keep
them under strict surveillance. But it was difficult to
restrain the thieving propensities of the negroes ; petty
thefts were constantly committed, and it was one of these
that first paved the way to the real or supposed discovery
of a plot to murder the inhabitants and take possession
of the city.
On the 14th of March, 1741, some goods and silver
were stolen from the house of a merchant named Robert
Hogg, on the corner of Broad and Mill or South William
streets. The police immediateiy set to work to discover
the thieves, and suspicion having fallen upon John
Hughson, the keeper of a low negro tavern on the shores
of the North River, his house was searched, but to no
eflfect. Soon after, an indentured servant girl of Hugh-
son's, by the name of Mary Burton, told a neighbor that
the goods were really hidden in the house, but that Hugh-
son would kill her if he knew that she had said so. This
rumor soon came to the ears of the authorities, who at
once arrested Mary Burton and lodged her in the cifrj^
jail, promising her her ft^eedom if she would confess all
that she knew about the matter.
368 HISTORT OF THE
On the 4th of March, the Coyrt met at the City Hall,
and John Hughson, his wife, Mary Burton, and an Irish-
woman of depraved character, commonly known as
Peggy Carey, but whose real name was Margaret Soru-
biero, who was also an inmate of Hughson's house, were
brought before them. Mary Burton testified that a
negro named Caesar, belonging to John Varick, had left
goods and money in the keeping of Peggy, a part of
which had been concealed by Hughson. This, Peggy
obstinately denied, but Hughson admitted that he had
concealed some pieces of linen and silver. Caasar and
another negro named Prince Amboyman were at once
arrested and committed to prison, both denying the rob-
bery. Some of the stolen goods were discovered under
the kitchen-floor of the house of CsBsar's master, and
restored to the owner, and here the matter rested. Not a
word was said during the trial of any plot or conspiracy.
Affairs stood in this wise, when, about noon on the
18th of March, the governor's house, in the fort next the
King's Chapel,* then occupied by Lieutenant-Governor
Clarke, was discovered to be on fire. All efforts to save
it were in vain ; it was burned to the groimd, together
with the chapel, the secretary's office, the stables and
the barracks. The conflagration was at the time attrib-
uted to the carelessness of a plumber who had left fire
in a gutter between the house and tiie chapel, and it was
so reported by the governor to the legislature. A week
after, the chimney of Captain Warren's house near the
fort took fire^ but tie flames were soon extinguished with
* Tb« old churoh in the fort, hmM bj Wilhelm Kieft.
\
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. 359
little damage. A few days after, a fire broke out in the
storehouse of Mr. Van Zandt, which, at the time, was
attributed to the carelessness of a smoker.
Three days after, the hay in a cow-stable near the
house of Mr. Quick was discovered to be on fire. The alarm
was given and the flames were soon suppressed. While
returning to their homes, the people were called by a
fifth alarm to the house of Mr. Thompson, where it was
said that fire had been placed in a kitchen-loft where a
negro usually slept. The next day, coals were discov-
ered under the stables of John Murray in Broadway.
The following morning, a fire broke out in the house of
Sergeant Bums, opposite the fort ; and a few hours after,
the roof of Mr. Hilton's house, near the Fly Market,
was discovered to be on fire. Both were extinguished
without much damage, but the rapid recurrence of so
many fires alarmed the inhabitants, and a riunor was soon
circulated that the negroes had plotted to burn the city.
For some days past, the slaves had been objects of sus-
picion ; this suspicion now ripened into certainty. A
short time before, a Spanish vessel, manned in part by
blacks, had been brought into port as a prize, and the
negroes condemned to be sold as slaves at auction. The
exasperated Africans, who had hitherto been ft^eemen,
murmured loudly at this harsh usage, and rashly let fall
threats which were now recalled as words of ominous
import. One of these negroes had been bought by Mr.
Sarly, the next neighbor to Mr. Hilton, whose house had
been fired. On being questioned about the matter, his
answers were deemed evasive, and suspicions were at
once excited against himself and his companions. *' The
360 HISTORY OP THE
"Spanish negroes! the Spanish negroes! take up the
" Spanish negroes ! " was the general cry ; and the unfor-
tunate wretches were at once arrested and thrown into
prison, together with Quack, a negro of Mr. Walters, who
had been heard to mutter some incoherent words about
the fire.
The magistrates met the same afternoon to consult
about the matter, and while they were still in session,
another fire broke out in the roof of Colonel Philipse's
storehouse. The alarm became universal ; the negroes
were seized indiscriminately and thrown into prison ;
among them, many who had just helped to extinguish the
fire. People and magistrates were alike panic struck,
and the rumor gained general credence, that the negroes
had plotted to bum the city, massacre the inhabitants,
and effect a general revolution.
On the 11th of April, 1741, the Common Council
assembled, and offered a reward of one hundred pounds
and a full pardon to any conspirator who would reveal
his knowledge of the plot with the names of the incen-
diaries. Many of the terrified citizens removed with
their household goods and valuables from what they
began to deem a doomed city, paying exorbitant prices
for vehicles and assistance. The city was searched for
strangers and suspicious persons, but none were found,
and the negroes were examined without effect. Cuff
Philipse,* who had been among those arrested, was
proved to have been among the most active in extin-
guishing the fire at his master's house, yet he was held
* The negroes were familiarly called by the somamefl of their mastere.
L
CITY OP NEW YORK. 361
in prison to await further developments, and some things
being foimd in the possession of Robin Chambers and
his wife which were judged unbecoming their condition
as slaves, they were thrown into prison and the articles
delivered to the mayor.
On the 21st of April, 1741, the Supreme Court
assembled for the especial purpose of investigating the
matter, Judges Philipse and Horsmanden being present.
The grand jury was composed of Robert Watts, foreman,
Jeremiah Latouche, Joseph Read, Anthony Rutgers,
John Cruger, jr., John McBvers, Adonijah Schuyler,
Abraham de Peyster, John Merrit, David Provoost,
Abraham Ketteltas, Henry Beekman, Rene Hett, David
Van Home, Winant Van Zandt, George Spencer and
Thomas Duncan. The proclamation of pardon and
reward was read to Mary Burton, who deposed that
CsBsar and Prince brought the stolen goods to the house,
and that Hughson, his wife and Peggy received them.
She said, too, that Caasar, Prince and CufiF Philipse used
frequently to meet at Hughson's, and talk about burning
first the fort and then the whole city, and that Hughson
and his wife promised to assist them. When this was
done, Hughson was to be governor, and Cuff king..
Then Cuff used to say that some people had too much;
and others too little ; that his old master had a great
deal now, but that the time was coming when he would
have 1 3ss, and Cuff more ; that they would set fire to the
town in the night, and, when the whites came to
extinguish it, would kill and destroy them. She swore,
moreover, that she had never seen any white person in
company when they talked of burning the town, save
362 HISTORY OF THE
her master and mistress with Peggy. All this story of
a plot conceived by a poor tavern-keeper and his wift
with a few ignorant negroes for the destruction of a city
of ten thousand inhabitants was received with eager
avidity by the credulous magistrates, and Mary Burton
became at once the heroine of the day.
The jury next examined Peggy Carey, promising her
pardon and reward if she would make a full confession,
but she persistently denied all knowledge of the fires,
and said that, if she should accuse any one of any such
thing, she must slander innocent persons and blacken
her own soul. She was convicted of having received
and secreted the stolen goods, and sentenced to death
with Prince and Caesar. The daughter of Hughson with
one of his slaves were also committed as being impli-
cated in the conspiracy.
Terrified at the prospect of a speedy death, the
wretched Peggy endeavored to avert her fate by grasp-
ing the means of rescue which had before been offered
her, and begged for a second examination ; and, this
being granted her, confessed that meetings of negroes
had been held in the last December at the house of
John Romme, a tavern-keeper near the new Battery, of
the same stamp with Hughson, at which she had been
present ; and that Romme had told them that if they
would set fire to the city, massacre the inhabitants and
bring the plunder to him, he would carry them to a
strange country and give them all their liberty. This
confession was so evidently vamped up to save herself
from the gallows that even the magistrates hesitated to
believe it. Yet Cuff Philipse, Brash Jay, Cura^oa Dick,
CITY OP NEW YORK. 36S
OdBsar Pintard, Patrick English, Jack Beasted and Cato
Moore, all of whom she had named in her confession, were
brought before her and identified as conspirators.
Romme absconded, but his wife was arrested and com-
mitted to prison ; and the accused were locked up for
further examination. Upon this, the terrified negroes
began to criminate each other, hoping thereby to save
themselves from the fate that awaited them. But these
efforts availed them nothing, any more than did the con-
fession of the miserable Peggy, who was executed at
last, vainly denying with her dying breath her former
confessions. In the meantime, several fires had occurred
at Hackensack, and two negroes, suspected of being the
incendiaries, were condemned and burnt at the stake,
though not a particle of evidence was found against
them.
On Monday, the 11th of May, Caesar and Prince, the
first victims of the negro plot, were hung on a gallows
erected on the little island in the Fresh Water Pond,
denying to the last all knowledge of the conspiracy,
though they admitted that they had really stolen the
goods.
Hughson and his wife were tried and found guilty,
and, with Peggy Carey, were hanged on a gibbet
erected on the East River shore, near the corner of
Cherry and Catharine streets. Every artifice was used
to extract from the prisoners an admission of their guilt,
and even to inveigle the daughter of Hughson into
criminating her father and mother. Their examination
elicited the new fact from Mary Burton that she had
seen a negro give Hughson twelve pounds to buy guns,
36 1 HISTORY OP THE
which he had purchased and secreted under the garret
floor of his house. The floor was taken up, but the
guns could neither be traced nor found ; yet this failed
to shake the belief of the credulous magistrates, who
still continued to accept her testimony.
Cufi^ Philipse and Quack were next brought to trial, a
negro boy named Sawney appearing as witness against
them. This boy was at first arrested and brought
before the magistrates, when he denied all knowledge of
the conspiracy. He was told in reply that if he would
tell the truth, he would not be hanged. To tell the
truth had now come to be generally understood to mean
the confession of a plot for burning the town. Urged
on by his fears, he acted on the hint, and said that
Quack had tried to persuade him to set the fort on fire ;
alid that Cufi* had said that he would set fire to one
house, Cura9oa Dick to another, and so on. A negro
named Fortune was arrested and examined, who testified
that Quack had told him that Sawney had confessed to
him that it was he who had set fire to the governor's
house. The next day, Sawney was called up and again
examined, when he confessed that he had been frightened
into a promise to burn the SHp market, that he had seen
some of the houses fired by the negroes, and that he and
the rest had been sworn to secrecy. On these accusa-
tions, the negroes were tried for their lives ; all the
lawyers in the city being arrayed on the side of the
prosecution. Bradley was still attorney-general ; and
Murray, Alexander, Smith, Chambers, Nichols, Lodge
and Jameson made up the balance of the New York
attorneys. These voluntarily oflFered to attend the trials
CITY OP NEW YORK. 365
by turns ; leaving the negroes as destitute of counsel as
they were of friends. Ignorant of the forms of law, and
terrified at the prospect of their impending danger, it is
not strange that their bewildered and contradictory
statements were construed by their learned adversaries
into evidences of their guilt. Quack and Cuffee were
found guilty, and sentenced to be burned at the stake on
the 3d of May.
On the day appointed, the fagots were piled in a
grassy valley in the neighborhood of the present Five
Points, and the wretched victims led out to execu-
tion. The spot was thronged with impatient spectators,
eager to witness the terrible tragedy. Terrified and
trembling, the poor wretches gladly availed themselves
of their last chance for life, and, on being questioned by
their masters, confessed that the plot had originated with
Hughson, that Quack's wife was the person who had set
fire to the fort, he having been chosen for the task by
the confederated negroes, and that Mary Burton had
spoken the truth and could name many more conspira-
tors if she pleased. As a reward, they were reprieved
until the further pleasure of the governor should be
known. But the impatient populace, which had come
out for a spectacle, would not so easily be balked of its
prey. Ominous mutterings resounded round the pile
with threats of evil inr^^rt, and the sheriflF was ordered
to proceed with his duty, ''^errified by these menaces,
he dared not attempt to tak > prisoners back to the
jail ; and the execution went on. Despite their forced
confessions, the terrible pile was lighted, and the
wretched negroes perished in the flames, knowing that,
366 HISTORY OF THE
with their last breath, they had doomed their fellows to
share their fate in vaiu.
On the 6th of June, seven other negroes, named Jack,
Cook, Robin, Caesar, CuflFee, Cuffee and Jamaica, were
tried and found guilty on the dying evidence of Quack
and CuflFee, with the stories of Mary Burton and the
negro boy, Sawney. All were executed the next day
with the exception of Jack, who saved his life by pro-
mising further disclosures. These disclosures implicated
fourteen others, one of whom, to save his life, confessed
and accused still more.
On the 11th of June, Francis, one of the Spanish
negroes, Albany, and Cura^oa Dick were sentenced to
be burned at the sta](e. Ben and Quack were con-
demned to the same fate five days after. Three others
were at the same time sentenced to be hanged, and five
of the Spanish negroes were also convicted.
On the 19th of June, the governor issued a proclama-
tion of pg^rdon to aU who would confess and reveal the
names of their accomplices before the ensuing 1st of
July. Upo^i. this, the accusations multiplied rapidly.
Mary Burtou, who had at first denied that any white
man save Hughson had been implicated in the plot, now
suddenly remembered that John Ury, a reputed Catholic
priest and a schoolmaster in the city, had also been
concerned in it. His religion waa proof presumptive of
his guilt in the minds of the populace, and he was at
once arrested and indicted, first, on the charge of having
counselled Quack to set fire to the governor's house in
the fort ; secondly, that, bemg a Catholic priest, he had
come into the province and remained there seven
CITY OF NEW YORE. 367
months, contrary to a law passed in the eleventh year of
the reign of William III., condemning every Popish
priest and Jesuit to death who should henceforth be
found within the limits of the province. The evidence
received against this unhappy man can only find its
parallel in the annals of the Salem witchcraft. The tide
of popular prejudice against the negroes was turned
into a new channel, and the rumor of a Popish plot
added fresh zest to the spirit of persecution. Ury was
accused of being an emissary of the Jesuits, deputed to
stir up the negroes to an insurrection. Sarah Hughson,
who had been coaxed and threatened into becoming the
tool of her parents' executioners, and had been pardoned
from a sentence of death in order that she might give
efvidence against Ury, deposed that she had seen him
make a ring with chalk upon the floor of her father's
house, and, ranging all the negroes present around it,
stand in tho middle with a cross in his hand and swear
them to secrecy ; and that she had seen him baptize
them and forgive them their sins. This story was con-
firmed by the testimony of Mary Burton ; and William
Kane, a soldier belonging to the fort, deposed that Ury
had endeavored to convert him to the Catholic faith. A
confectioner by the name of Elias Desbrosses testified
that Ury had at one time inquired of him for wafers.
It was also proved that he could read Latin, and that a
joiner, the father of one of his pupils, had made a d^sk
fbr him, which the active imagination of his judges con-
strued into an altar. It was in vain for him to declare
that he was a non-juring clergyman of the Church of
England, to prove by reliable witnesses that he had
368 HISTORY OF THE
never associated with the negroes, and to disclaim all
knowledge of Hughson and his family ; his judges had
determined on his sentence in advance, and he was con-
demned to be hanged on the 29th of August.
The arrest of Ury was the signal for the implication
of others of the whites. It was a true foreshadowing of
the Reign of Terror. Every one feared his neighbor,
and hastened to be the first to accuse, lest he himself
should be accused and thrown into prison. Fresh
victims were daily seized, and those with whom the jails
were already full to overflowing were transported or
hanged with scarcely the form of a trial in order to make
room for the new comers. So rapid was the increase
that the judges feared that the numbers might breed an
infection, and devised short methods of ridding themselves
of the prisoners, sometimes by pardoning, but as often
by hanging them. From the 11th of May to the 29tik
of August, one hundred and fifty-four negroes were
committed to prison, fourteen of whom were burnt at
the stake, eighteen hanged, seventy-one transported and
the rest pardoned or discharged for the want of sufficient
evidence. In the same time, twenty-four whites were
committed to prison, four of whom were executed.
The tragedy would probably have continued much
longer, had not Mary Burton, grown bolder by success,
began to implicate persons of consequence. This at
onoe aroused the fears of the influential citizens, who
had been the foremost when only the negroes were in
question, and put a stop to all further proceedings. The
fearful catalogue of victims closed on the 29th of
August with the execution of John Ury. The 24th of
■V
CITY OF NEW YORK. 369
September was set apart as a day of general thanksgiv-
ing for the escape of the citizens from destruction ; Mary
Burton received the hundred pounds that had been
promised her as the price of blood, and the city fell back
into a feeUng of security. Whether this plot ever had
the shadow of an existence except in the disordered
imaginations of the citizens can never with certainty be
known. Daniel Horsmanden, at that time recorder,
and one of the judges of the Supreme Court, attempts
in a history of the conspiracy to demonstrate its existence
and to justify the acts of the judges in the matter. But
the witnesses were persons of the vilest character, the
evidence was contradictory, inconsistent, and extorted
under the fear of death, and no real testimony was adduced
that could satisfy any man in the possession of a clear
head and a sound judgment. Terror was really the
strongest evidence, and the fear of the Jesuits the con-
clusive proof. The law passed in 1700 for hanging
every Catholic priest who voluntarily came within the
province still disgraced the statute-book, while the feel-
ing of intolerance whidi had prompted it remained as
bitter and unyielding as ever.
The French church in Pine street was rebuilt during
this year. The following year was marked by the break-
ing out of a malignant epidemic, strongly resembling the
yellow fever in type, which carried off over two hundred
persons. This was the second disease of the kind that
had appeared in the city.
In 1743, Lieutenant-Governor Clarke was superseded
by Admiral George Clinton, a younger son of the Earl
of Lincoln, and the father of the Sir Henry Chnton who
U
S70 HISTORY OP THE
afterwards figured so conspicuously in the city during
the Revolution. Clinton arrived at New York on the
22d of September, with his wife and family, and pub-
lished his commission on the same day at the City Hall.
He was received by the corporation with the usual
congratulatory address and the freedom of the city in a
gold box, made by Charles Le Rouz, the city goldsmith,
at a cost of twenty poimds. Clinton was of an ea^
and indolent temperament, anxious above aU to improve
his fortunes, and not averse to popularity. On his arrival,
he at once took Chief-Justice De Lancey into his confi-
dence, and, under his guidance, for some time, things
went on smoothly. The Assembly voted him a liberal
revenue for the first year, while he, in turn, assented to
all the bills presented to him ; among which was one
limiting the existence of t^ and all future Assemblies
to a period of seven years. The third intercolonial war
breaking out at the same time, the Assembly voted
money to aid in carrying it on, and new expeditions were
organized for tlie conquest of Canada. It was not long
before Clinton became estranged from his first friend,
De Lancey, and formed an alliance with Cadwullader
Colden instead. This was the signal for the commence-
ment of hostilities. Heading the opposition party, the
late favorite, who was allied either by blood or friendship
to most of the leading men of the province, stirred up a
fierce contest between the governor and the Assembly,
which harassed the remainder of his administration and
finally compelled him to withdraw. from the province.
In 1744, Stephen Bayard, a descendant of Nicholas
Bayard of Leislerian memory, was appointed mayor.
CITY OF NEW YOBK.
371
I
f
CITY OP NEW YORK. 373
During the first year of his administratioii, steps were
taken towards founding a college in the city. It was
time, indeed, for, engaged in commercial and political
affairs, the citizens had neglected the interests of educa-
tion. The few collegians in the province had been edu-
cated in England or at the eastern colleges ; while most of
the youth went directly from the grammar-school to the
coimting-room. Smith and De Lancey were the only col-
legians on the bench or at the bar ; and there were but
few to be found elsewhere. To remedy this remissness,
it was resolved to raise £2,250 by lottery — ^the usual
means of effecting such an object — ^for the foundation of
a college. The enterprise was at once commenced,
though it was not until ten years after that the money
was raised, and the corner-stone of King^s, afterwards
Columbia College laid by the governor. The manage-
ment of the proposed institution soon became a subject
of contention between the Episcopalian and Presbyterian
parties, now the two great factions of the day, the former
of which was headed by James De Lancey, and the latter
by Philip Livingston. In this, tlie Episcopalians gained
the mastery, and the college long remained under the
control of that denomination.
In 1747, Edward Holland was appointed mayor. He
continued in the mayoralty until his death in 1756. In
the first year of his administration, the Presbyterian
church in Wall street, which had been erected during
the administration of Hunter, was rebuilt. During the
same year, the Common Council ordered fifty copies of
** An Essay on the Duties of Vestrymen " to be published
at their expense at a cost of four pounds in order to
374
HISTORY OF THB
encourage works of this kind — one of the first cases of
this sort on record. In the course of the next two years,
Beekman and the contiguous streets were regulated,
Ferry street was ceded to the city, Beekman, Dey and
Thames streets were paved, Pearl street was dug down
near Peck Slip and regulated from Franklin Square to
Chatham street, and John street was paved and regu-
lated. In 1751, a Moravian chapel was built in Fulton
street. The following year, the first Merchant's
Exchange was erected at the foot of Broad street, and
St. George's chapel was built by Trinity Church on the
comer of CliflF and Beekman streets, and was conse-
crated on the 1st of July by the Rev. Mr. Barclay.
This still remains in good preservation, aftid is well
known to the down-town residents as one of the few
St. George's Chapel in Beekman street, erected in 1762.
CITY OF NEW TOKK. 375
landmarks of the olden time. A few years since, itg
centenary celebration took place, and the old church was
thronged by a crowd of worshippers, kneehng for one
moment at the shrine of antiquity. This is, next to the
Post 0£Gice, the oldest church edifice now standing in the
city, and its quaint old chandeliers and aisles flagged with
grey stone still remain as relics of the days of yore. It
was partially destroyed by fire in 1814, but was soon
after repaired and opened again for service. Washington
was a firequent attendant of this church during his resi-
dence in the city in the ear]y part of the Revolution.
In 1748, Clinton revived the scheme of making the
governors independent of the Assembly by means of a
permanent revenue, and urged the latter to favor his
designs by granting him a five years' appropriation,
threatening them with the vengeance of the king in case
of refusal. They did refuse it, nevertheless, and all the
persuasions and menaces of the governor, backed by the
royal authority, failed to move them from the stand
which they had taken. Another incident occurred about
the same time which widened the breach between the
people and the royal governors, and prepared them for
a final separation. All colonial vessels were at this time
required to lower their flags in token of respect when
passing his majesty's ships of war. A captain by the
name of Ricketts, on returning one night with his wife
and family from New York to Elizabethtown, inadver-
tently neglected this token of homage when passing the
Greyhoimd, which lay anchored in the harbor. The cap-
tain of the latter inmiediately fired a shot, of which the
party in the boat took no notice, not dreaming that they
376 HISTORY OP THB
were concerned in the matter. The shot was imme-
diately followed by another, which struck the nurse,
killing her instantly. The news of this outrage aroused
the citizens ; the captain was instantly arrested and
brought to shore, and the governor petitioned to bring
him to trial ; but Clinton coolly disclaimed all jurisdic-
tion in the matter, saying that his commission gave him
no power over any of the ships of war, and that the
offender could only be proceeded against in England.
The people were exasperated almost to madness ; but
there was no redress ; they w^re forced to be silent.
In the meantime, the conduct of Clinton had alienated
Colden, who had gone over to the party of the opposi-
tion, and Smith, Alexander and Johnson alone remained
as his chief supporters. Under the leadership of De
Lancey, the Assembly grew more and more refractory,
and, after repeated efforts to obtain his demands, growl-
ing weary of the contest, the governor at length pro-
rogued them. Finding that his power in the province
was gone, and worn with the struggle against a powerful
opposition, Clinton at last dispatched his resignation to
England, and Sir Danvers Osborne was appointed in his
stead.
The new governor arrived on the 7th of September,
1753, charged with instructions to maintain the royal
prerogative, and to demand of the Assembly a perma-
nent revenue to be disbursed by the governor alone,
with the advice and consent of his council. Three days
after, he took the oaths of ofiBce, and published his com-
mission at the City Hall. The people welcomed him with
shouts and huzzas, mingled with deep invectives against
CITY OF NEW YORK.
377
CITY OF NEW YORK. 379
Clinton, who walked by his side. This expression of
feeling wounded him deeply. **I expect the same treat-
**ment before I leave the province," said he. On his
return to the council chamber, the corporation met him
with a bold address, expressing their hope that he would
be as averse to countenancing as they should be to brook-
ing any infringement upon their civil or religious liber-
ties. A splendid entertainment, however, was given by
the city in honor of the new governor ; bells were rung,
cannon fired, and the whole town illuminated ; yet it was
whispered that this was due more to the appointment of
De Lancey — ^now the idol of the people — as lieutenant-
governor, than to the accession of Sir Danvers Osborne,
On the morning of the 12th, the new governor con-
vened the council and laid his instructions before them.
**The Assembly will never yield obedience," said they,
** Is this true ?" said he, turning to William Smith, who
stood by his side. ** Most emphatically so," answered
the chief-justice in reply. ** Then what am I come here
** for!" exclaimed he, gloomily, bowing his head on the
window-sill and covering his face with his hands.
The next morning the whole city was in commotion.
The body of Sir Danvers Osborne had been found sus-
pended by a handkerchief from the garden-wall of John
Murray's house in Broadway, where he had lodged since
his arrival in the city. The unfortunate man had been
deranged and had even attempted his life before his
departure from England. The loss of a beloved wife
had unsettled his reason, and his friends, hoping to work
a cure by constant occupation and a change of scene,
had procured him this post and sent him to New York
380 CITY OP NEW YOEK,
to assume the government. But the fractiousness of the
people over whom he had been sent to rule had proved
too much for his enfeebled brain, and, seeing the impos-
sibility of enforcing his instructions without becoming as
odious as his predecessor, he had retired to his chamber
after his stormy interview with the council, burned his
papers, set his affairs in order, and deliberately put an
end to his life. His remains were buried in Trinity
church, the obsequies being performed with some reluct-
ance by the rector, who protested that the burial service
was forbidden by the rubric to those who had died by
their own hands. This objection, however, was over-
ruled by the council, who declared that insanity was
equivalent to disease, and that the governor had as much
right to Christian burial as though he had died of a
fever ; and the body of the unfortunate Sir Danvers
Osborne was at last permitted to repose in consecrated
ground. The government devolved upon James De
Lancey, now grown a favorite with a large portion of
the people.
CHAPTER XIII.
1763—1763.
New York Previous to the Bevolation.
Lieutenant-Governor James De Lancet now assumed
the direction of aflfairs. His accession was hailed with
delight by the people, to whom he had endeared himself
by heading the party opposed to the *' permanent reve-
* ' nue '' scheme of the royal governors. Strangely enough,
the parties had changed sides. The ex-royalist faction
— aristocratic, as it was satirically termed by its oppo-
nents— comprising most of the wealthy and influential
citizens, De Lancey, Van Rensselaer, Golden, Philipse,
Heathcote, and many more, was now openly ranged on
the side of the popular rights, while Smith, Livingston
and Alexander, once the leaders of the people, had gone
over to the other side, and had been foremost in the
councils of the late governor. Under these circum-
stances, De Lancey found himself in an embarrassing
position. The royal instructions bequeathed to him by
Sir Danvers Osborne directed him to insist on a perma-
nent revenue and absolutely to refuse to sign all annual
881
382 HISTORY OP THE
appropriations, while he was pledged as the leader of
the popular party to a policy diametrically opposed to
this proceeding. He extricated himself from this diffi-
culty with seeming inconsistency, but wisely in truth ;
while, on one hand, he fulfilled his oaths of office by urg-
ing the Assembly to conform to the royal instructions,
on the other, he pressed the claims of the people upon
the notice of the home government, and was eventually
instrumental in obtaining the desired concession.
After a series of bloody campaigns, in which the chief
advantage on the side of the English had been the bril-
liant conquest of Louisburg, the third intercolonial war
had been terminated in 1748 by the peace of Aix-la-
Cliapelle, which, much to the discontent of the colonists,
restored to France all the newly-acquired territory. But
this peace was of short duration. The Canadians soon
recommenced their aggressions upon the frontier settle-
ments, and on the 19th of June, 1754, a congress of depu-
ties from the several provinces met at Albany to concert
measures for the common safety. Over this assembly,
De Lancey presided. The alliance with the Iroquois
was strengthened by presents and speeches, and plans
were projected for mutual defence. The chief feature of
this congress was, however, a plan for the union of the
colonies, which was drawn up and presented by Benja-
lu'ni Franklin. This proposal, though opposed by De
Luncey, was adopted by the convention. It was not,
however, adapted to the times ; the people opposed it
OS giving too much power to the king, and the king, as
giving too much liberty to the people ; thus, pleasing
neither, it was never carried into eflfect ; yet it sug-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 883
gested the idea of a confederated power which finally
matured into the Federal Union.
On the 31st of October, 1754, De Lancey signed and
sealed the charter of the projected college, though,
owing to internal ^dissensions in the management, it was
not delivered imtil the following May, Doctor Johnson,
the Episcopal minister at Stratford, Connecticut, had
already been invited to fill the presidents chair of the
institution, and Mr, Whittlesey, the Presbyterian minis-
ter at New Haven, was chosen as vice-president. By the
provisions of the charter, however, none but Episcopa-
lians were made eligible as presidents — a regulation which
occasioned much ill-feeling among the dissenters. The
Presbyterians, headed by the Livingstons, used every
effort to break down the college, and the city journals
joined in the controversy. These had somewhat changed
in character since the Zenger trial. William Bradford
had died in the city in 1762, at an advanced age, and
the Weekly Joumai of Zenger had been discontinued in
the same year. In January, 1743, James Parker, an
apprentice of Bradford, had commenced a new weekly
called the New York Gazette or Weekly Pqstboy, and this
speculation proving successful, had published a monthly
styled the American Magazine and Historical Chronicle^
in October of the same year. The Weekly Mercury, the
government organ, was published by Hugh Gaiue at his
office opposite the Old Slip Market. These falling into
the hands of the Episcopalian party, the Presbyterians
established a new joumai in 1753, called the Independent
Reflector, in which their side of the college controversy
was fully argued. The Episcopalians, however, pre-
884 HISTORY OF THE
vailed, thanks to the influence of their leader, De Lancey,
and long retained control of the institution. The dis-
putes were preparatory to the founding of the college ;
the corner-stone of the building being laid in 1756 by
the new governor, Sir Charles Hardy..
In April, 1764, a scheme for the foundation of a pub-
lic Ubrary was first projected, and a considerable amount
being soon raised by subscription, trustees were appointed
for the ensuing year. These trustees were James De
Lancey, James Alexander, John Chambers, John Watts,
William Walton, Rev. Henry Barclay, Benjamin Nicolls,
Robert R. Livingston, William Livingston, William P.
Smith, and Mr. Williams. The following autumn, the first
books arrived, and were deposited in the City Hall with
those belonging to the Corporation Library. The further
progress of this first City Library — the embryo of the
present Society Library — we have sketched elsewhere.
In 1754, the "Walton House," at that time the palace
of the city, was built in Pearl street by William Walton,
a merchant and son-in-law of De Lancey, who had
amassed a fortime by successful ventures in foreign trade.
This house was elegantly fitted up in the fashion of the
times, and furnished luxuriously ; and the fame of its
splendor extended to England, and was quoted there as
a proof of the mad extravagance of the colonists, and
their ability to support unlimited taxation. The house
was built of yellow Holland brick, with five windows in
front, and a tiled roof, encircled with balustrades. The
garden extended down to the river. At a later date, it
was the scene of the marriage of Citizen Genet, the
Minister of France, to the daughter of Governor Clin-
CITY OF NEW TOEK
S85
ton. It still stand}", fi^ripped of its primitive splendor,
the lower story transformed into warehouses, and the
"pper part into an emigrant boarding*bouse. In the
The Walton House, an ii uow stands.
following year, a ferry was first established between Wew
York and Staten Island, which now possessed a cunsid-
erable population. During the same year, Peck' Slip
w^as opened and paved.
25
386 HISTOBT OF THE
War haying again been declared between England and
France, the fortificationa were strengthened, volunteers
enlisted, and a thousand stand of arms ordered for the
defence of the city in the event of an invasion. On the
2d of September, Sir Charles Hardy, the newly-appointed
governor, arrived in the city, and was proclaimed the
next day at the City Hall with the usual ceremonies.
Hardy was a sailor, an admiral in the English navy, and
knew far better how to steer a ship than to guide the
affairs of a turbulent province. Fortunately, he was
conscious of this fact himself, and frankly expressed it
with sailor-like bluntness. " Gentlemen, ^^ said he to a
group of the New York lawyers, " I can^t pretend to
'' say that I imderstand the law. My knowledge relates
** to the sea — that is my sphere. If you want to know
** when the wind and tide suit for going down to Sandy
** Hook, I can tell you that." Such is the confession of
incapacity which Chief-Justice Smith attributes to the
royal governor. But a knowledge of the science of
government was deemed altogether superfluous in these
officials by the English Court ; and even Pitt, the
so-called friend of America, afterwards said in Parlia-
ment, *' There is not a company of foot that has served
** in America out of which you may not pick a man of
** sufficient knowledge and experience to make a gover-
**nor of a colony there." Such was the estimation in
which the intellect of the colonial subjects was held by
the mother coimtry.
Sir Charles Hardy having assumed the nominal direc-
tion of affairs, De Lancey resumed his seat as chief-jus-
tice ; but, wisely recognizing his own incapacity. Hardy
»
J
388
HISTOBT OF THI
. 'i
J
CTTT OP NEW YORK
380
4
CITY OF NEW YORK. 391
left him in actual command of the province, and enacted
the part of a lay figure in the government. This insipid
mode of life soon wearied the active sailor, and he
entreated to be restored to his former command. After
some delay, his request was granted ; the post of rear-
admiral was conferred upon him, and he sailed from
New York for the capture of Louisburg, leaving the
government again in the hands of De Lancey.
In the first year of Hardy's administration, the city had
been deprived of its chief magistrate by death, and John
Cruger, the son of the former mayor of that name, had
been appointed to fill his place. It was not long before
he became involved in difl&culty with the royal ofl&cials.
At this time, the French and Indian war was raging in
the province, and Lord Loudon, the commander-in-chief
of the American forces, sent a thousand of his troops to
New York with directions to the city authorities to find
quarters for them among the inhabitants. This order
they regarded as an infraction of their rights, and quar-
tering the soldiers in the barracks in Chambers street,
they left the ofl&cers to take care of themselves. The
incensed general hastened to New York, and ordered
them at once to find free quarters for his officers, saying
that such was both the law and the custom, and that, if
they did not instantly comply, he would bring thither
all the troops in North America and billet them himself
upon the inhabitants. This outrageous demand, though
opposed by De Lancey, was supported by the governor.
The indignant citizens reftised to obey, the corporation
neither dared nor wished to enforce them, and the matter
was finally settled by providing for the officers by private
392 HISTORY OF THE
subscriptioiL But the demand onoe made, wa^ repeatedly
renewed, and was one of the chief grievances that urged
the people on to the struggle for uidependence.
The war, meanwhile, went on with unabated vigor,
and large bodies of militia marched from New York to
aid in the defence of the English forts and the conquest
of Canada. Spurred on by the hihuman massacre of
Fort William Henry, the colonists spared neither blood
nor treasure in avenging their murdered countrymen.
Louisburg, Frontenac, Crown Point, Ticonderoga,
Niagara and Quebec fell successively into their hands,
and the captiwe of Montreal in 1760 finally concluded
a disastrous war and secured to England the conquest
of Canada.
In the meantime, the province had again been left
without a ruler. On the morning of the 30th of July,
1760, Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey was found by
one of his children expiring in his study.'*' He had dined
the day before at Staten Island with a company of
friends, then had crossed the bay in the evening, and
rode out to his country-seat, where he had retired to his
library to repose in his arm-chair, as he was often forced
to do from a chronic asthma. His remains were e&icorted
the next day by a large concourse of citizens from his
house on the east side of the Bowery, a Uttle above
Grand street, to Trinity Church, where he was interred
in the middle aisle, the funeral services being performed
by the Rev. Henry Barclay. Mr. De Lancey was a states-
man of marked ability, and his persistent support of the
* See Appendii, Noee X.
CITT OF NEW YORK. 393
.. system of annual appropriations — finally conceded dur-
ing the administration of Hardy— won for him a de-
served popularity.
The government now devolved upon Cadwallader
Golden, the former prot6g6 of Hunter, at this time
seventy-three years of age. The new governor had long
been actively engaged in public affairs, and was known
to possess literary and pohtical talent of no common
order. But he assumed the reins of government at a
critical period, and wrecked his popularity by taking
oaths which compelled him to sacrifice the rights of his
coimtrymen upon the shrine of official duty.
Soon after his accession, an affair occurred which
tended to increase the feeling of bitterness which was
rapidly springing up in the hearts of the colonists against
the mother country. The system of impressment was
now in vogue, and the captains of the British men-of-war
claimed the right to board colonial vessels and take
thence the men required to complete their quota ; or
failing in this, to land and kidnap citizens to serve in the
British navy. These outrages excited the indignation
of the citizens almost beyond forbearance ; but such
were the laws ; there was no alternative but to obey.
In the August following the death of De Lancey, a mer-
chant vessel arrived from Lisbon, and a man-of-war
Ijring in the harbor immediately sent a boat on board to
demand some of her men. On seeing the movements
of the English sailors, the crew seized the captain and
officers and confined them below, and, taking possession
of the ship, refused to suffer the intruders to come on
board. The captain called to them from the cabin win*
394 HISTORY OF THE
dow that he and his officers were prisoners, and there-
fore unable to obey; but, without heeding his position,
they at once opened a fire upon the offending merchant-
man, killing one man and wounding several others.
The affair caused much excitement, yet it was but a
sample of the constantly recurring outrages perpetrated
upon the colonial traders.
In October of the same year, General Amherst, the
conqueror of Canada, visited the city and was received
with enthusiasm. A pubUc entertainment was given in
his honor, the freedom of the city in a gold box was pre-
sented to him by the corporation, and an address,
couched in the most flattering terms, was tendered him
in behalf of the citizens. Salutes were fired, colors were
displayed, and the whole city was illuminated in hon(»r
of the successful termination of the long-continued con-
flict which, for so many years, had drained the energies
of the harassed colonies.
Early in the following year, news reached the province
of the death of George II., and the consequent acces-
sion of George III. to the throne of England. The city
was hung in mourning, and funeral sermons preached in
all the churches for the departed ; then, one week after,
salutes were fired and illiuninations made in honor of his
successor.
The winter proved one of intense severity. The Nar-
rows were frozen over, and men and horses crossed on
the ice. When spring opened, the work of public
improvement went on, and streets were regulated and
paved, wells dug, and other improvements made for the
benefit of the city. Fulton, then Partition street, was
CITY OF NEW YOBK. 395
one of these ; and though it had long had a partial exist-
ence, it was now for the first time graded and paved,
and classed among the legitimate streets of the city. A
theatre was also opened in Beekman street under the
auspices of Colden, but the ABsembly frowned on this as
detrimental to good morals, and the mayor attempted to
obtain the passage of a law prohibiting all dramatic per-
formances within the precincts of the city. Failing in
this, the corporation turned their attention to the amuse-
ment of raffling, which had grown quite common among
the boys and negroes, and interdicted it with all similar
games of chance, under penalty of a fine of three pounds,
half to be paid to the churchwardens and half to the
informer. A variety of municipal ordinances, regulating
weights and measures, markets and docks were also
passed, indicative of the constantly increasing prosperity
of the city.
In October, 1761, a govemor^s commission arrived
from England for General Robert Monckton, who was
then commanding the forces on Staten Island. Monck-
ton was a careless young soldier, devoted to his profes-
sion, and somewhat profligate withal, but his appoint-
ment was not distasteful to the people, many of whom
were enemies to Golden. On the 26th, he pubHshed his
commission at the City Hall, declaring that, as for
instructions, he had none, and hoped never to have any ;
an announcement especially pleasing to the citizens, to
whom the word was a signal for rebellion. On the 30th,
the usual freedom of the city, with the accompanying
gold box, was presented to the governor by the corpora-
tion, and graciously received. The new Assembly, who
396 filSTOJfcT 6f tHB
detested Golden, gave Monckton h warm reception, and
his adminietratioa opemed auspiciouslj.
Affairs now seemed to be gliding on smoothly and
everything promised peace and prosperity. After a long
and tiresome contest, the English government had con-
ceded to the colonies many of the representative rights
which they demanded, the permanent revenue was no
longer insisted on, the citizens were permitted for the
most part to tax themselves, and die province was
steadily growing in importance^ The main aggi-essions
still continued, for tlie governors disclaimed all jurisdic*
tion over the waters, and the naval oflScers were petty
sovereigns in their own right, forcing all colonial vessels
to lower their flags in token of homage, boarding them
and impressing their men, and firing on them at the
slightest provocation. But the citizens had fiiith in the
future redressal of all these grievances; despite their
mutinous demonstrations, their loyalty still remained
unshaken, and a separation from the mother-country
was a treason of which even the boldest had not dared
to dream. The rights of English subjects— the same
which were enjoyed by their fellow-countrymen on the
other side of the water under a limited monarchy— were
all that they claimed, and had these been judidously
conceded, England might long have continued to wear
America as the brightest jewel in her crown. The city
had increased to some fourteen thousand inhabitants, its
streets were constantly encroaching on the waste land,
public edifices were springing up here and there, and the
spirit of commercial enterprise was fast gaining ground,
despite the harsh restrictions imposed upon colonial
CITT OF NEW YOBK, 897
commerce by the arbitrary Board of Trade, Gh^ievaaces
enough were still existingy yet the political horizon was
calmer than it had been for many years. It was a
deceitful calm ; the thunders of the coming tempest
were gathering in the distance, and preparing to burst
with blighting force upon the doomed city.
Not many days after his accession, Monckton received
orders to repair with his forces to the Island of Mar-
tinique ; and he accordingly set sail on the 15th of
November, leaving Golden again in command at New
York. The expedition proved successful, the island was
captured with scarce a show of resistance, and Monckton
soon returned to his government.
During this year, the old plan of lighting the streets
by lanterns suspended from the windows was definitely
abandoned, and public lamps and lamp-posts were
erected in the principal streets which were lighted at the
public expense. Laws were passed, regulating the prices
of provisions, some of which are worthy of being quoted
as affording an idea of the standard of the times. Beef
was sold at fourpence-halfpenny per pound ; pork, at
fivepence-halfpenny ; veal, from fourpence-hal^enny
to sixpence ; butter at fifteen pence per pound, and
milk at six coppers per quart. An assize of bread had
been established from the earliest tim^s, varying every
two or three months in proportion to the rise or fall of
flour ; at this time a loaf of one pound twelve ounces
sold for four coppers.
In 1763, Dr. Johnson, the first president of King's
College, tendered his resignation, and Dr. Cooper Was
chosen in his stead. Soon after, a bequest of twelve
398 HISTOEY OF THE
hundred volumes was made to the institution by Dr. Bris-
tow of England, which, added to a eoUection which had
been bequeathed to it in 1757 by Joseph Murray,
formed the foundation for a substantial library. The
graduates at this year's commencement were Messrs. Cuy-
ler, Depeyster, Livingston, HoflFman, Wilkins, Bayard,
Verplanck, Marston, and Watts ; all names which have
grown old in the history of the city. In the May com-
mencement of the following year, held at St. George's
Chapel, John Jay, then a- youth of nineteen, won his
maiden honors, and first became a candidate for the
public favor in a dissertation on the blessings of peace
— a theme prophetic of his future career.
In the following month, Sandy Hook lighthouse was
lighted for the first time. About the same time, a ferry
was established between Paulus Hook, now Jersey City,
and Miesier's Dock, just opposite on the New York
shore ; a convenience which had long been needed, and
which proved a great accommodation to the people of
New Jersey. Another ferry was also established
between Staten Island and Bergen. Considerable
improvement, indeed, had been made in travelling
arrangements ; a mail went regularly twice a week from
New York to Philadelphia, and packet-boats and stages
plied between the same places, making the journey in
the space of three days. These packet-boats run from
the Battery to Perth Amboy, where a stage-wagon
received the goods and passengers and conveyed them
to Burlington. Here they were again transferred to a
packet-boat, and thus at length reached the place of their
destination. The journey was also frequently performed
CITY OP NEW YORK. 399
by crossing the bay in a scow to Staten Island, and thence
to the Jersey shore, then taking the inland route across
the intermediate rivers to the Quaker City. Another
route was now established by the way of Paulus Hook,
whence travellers made their way over the Jersey
marshes to the Hackensack River, and blowing a horn,
which hung against a tree, summoned a ferryman to
carry them across the stream ; then, journeying in short
stages to the Passaic, the Raritan, the Delaware, and the
Schuylkill, were ferried across in the same primitive
manner, and arrived in three days at Philadelphia.
Such were the simple modes of travelling in the olden
time.
During the same year, 1764, the John street Metho-
dist church was erected — one of the few buildings which
has escaped the successive conflagrations which have
swept away the landmarks of old New York, and come
down to us as relics of *' auld lang syne." Several new
streets were opened and regulated about the same time,
among others, CliflF street and Park place. For the
better prevention of fires, an ordinance was passed
directing that all the roofs in the city should be covered
with slate or tiles. For some years, however, tiles alone
were used, the first building roofed with slate being, it is
said, the City Hotel in Broadway, erected about 1794.
A riot of the British soldiers about this time occasioned
some excitement in the city. These worthies conceived
the sudden freak of setting the prisoners free, and
marching to the new jail, now the Hall of Records, they
broke open the door and demanded the keys of the
keeper. These being reftised them, they fired through
400 HISTORY OP THE
the door, grazing the ear of Major Rogers, one of their
officers who had been imprisoned for debt and whose
release was really the chief object of their attack ; then,
forcing the door, they told the prisoners that they were
at liberty, and attempted to carry oflF their major in
triumph. The prisoners not seeming disposed to quit
the jail, the soldiers attempted to drive them out by force,
and were only stopped by the arrival of the city militia,
who had been simmioned in haste to the scene of the
combat. The riot was soon quelled and some of the
oflFenders arrested, who declared, upon trial, that they
had been instigated by Rogers ; the affair, however,
was passed lightly by, like most of the offences of the
British soldiery.
But we have anticipated events. The deceitful calm
of 1762 became strangely troubled ere the end of the
year, and in 1763, the clouds gathered thickly in the
horizon, foreboding the coming tempest. Towards the
close of the last-named year, Monckton abandoned the
government for more congenial pursuits, and returned to
England, leaving CadwaUader Golden again at the head
of affairs. The sequel of his administration is too
important to be introduced at the close of a chapter.
CITY OP NEW YORK
401
c
26
CITY OF NEW YORK.
403
i
CHAPTER XIV.
176J— 1769.
Passage of the Stamp Act— Organization of the Sons of Liberty— First Colonial Con^r^fiB
in the City of New York— Non-Importation Agreement of the MerohantB— Repeal or
the Stamp Act— The Liberty Pole— Tax on Tea.
Cadwallader Golden had truly taken the hebn of pub-
lic aflFairs in the face of a gathering tempest. The
contest between Great Britain and the colonies was fast
drawing on. The people were daily growing more
bitter against their rulers, while the latter grew more
persistent in enforcing their rigorous policy. While the
colonies had been poor and struggling for existence,
Great Britain had been fully contented to let them alone.
New Amsterdam, indeed, had owed somewhat to the
care of its Holland patrons, but the pioneers of the
British colonies had been driven out like Ishmaelites into
the wilderness to contend with a rigorous climate and a
savage foe, with no other aid than their own scanty
resources, backed by indomitable perseverance and
courage. But no sooner had the Dutch settlement
grown, through the industry of its founders, into a rich
and flourishing province, than England contrived by
406 HISTORY OF THE
mingled force and intrigue to wrest it from the hands of
its rightful owners ; then, consolidating the colonies and
establishing over them a government of her own, she
wnmg from them a rich revenue in the shape of imposts
and taxes, and compelled them to support and to be
ruled by adventurers of her own choosing, whose sole
interest in public affairs lay in the amount of money that
could be extorted under divers pretexts from the purses
of the people.
The truth is that Great Britain contemptuously
regarded the colonists as rich barbarians, the chief end
of whose existence was to furnish an ample revenue to
the mother-country. Their interests were wholly disre-
garded in the government councils, and the restrictions
imposed on them were rigorous in the extreme. The
English parliament claimed the right of regulating the
trade of the colonies, and, under cover of this pretext,
levied heavy duties upon imports, ostensibly for the pur*
pose of defraying custom-house expenses, and, at the
same time, sedulously suppressed all attempts at home
manufactures. By a series of navigation acts, the colo-
nists were forbidden to trade with any foreign country,
or to export to England any merchandise of their own
in any but English vessels. The country was full of iron,
but not an axe or a hammer could be manufactured by
the inhabitants without violating the law. Beaver was
abundant, but to limit its manufacture, no hatter was
permitted to have more than two apprentices, and not a
hat could be sold from one colony to another. Of liie
wool which was sheared in such abimdance from Hie
flocks, not a yard of cloth could be manufactured except
CITY OP NEW YORK. 407
for private use, nor a pound exported from one town to
another ; but the raw material must all be sent to Eng-
land to be manufactured there, then to come back as
imported cloths, laden with heavy duties. Imposts were
also levied upon sugar, molasses, and all articles of
foreign luxury imported into the colonies, and America
was, in fstct, regarded only as a place from which to raise
money.
Notwithstanding, the colonists had patiently submitted
to this manifest injustice. They had evaded the pay-
ment of the duties by living frugally and dispensing with
the luxuries which could only be obtained at such a cost.
They had accepted the royal governors, profligate and
imbecile as they often were, and had contented them-
selves with opposing their unjust exactions. In the
French and Indian wars, they had acted nobly, and by
lavish expenditure of their blood and treasure, had
secured to England the possession of a rich and long-
coveted territory. These wars, which had added such
lustre to the crown of Great Britain, and had secured
the broad lands of Canada to her domain, had cost the
colonies thirty thousand of their bravest soldiers, and left
them burdened with a debt of thirteen millions of pounds.
But, insatiable in her desires, in return for this, she
required stiU more. The country which had been able
to contribute so largely in the intercolonial wars, had
not, she thought, been taxed to the utmost, and, in order
to wring from it a still larger revenue, new means were
proposed by the British ministry for establishing a sys-
tem of parliamentary taxation — a right which the colo-
nifita had ever persistently denied.
408 HISTORt OP THE
In 1763, it wajs proposed by Lord Grenville, then
Chancellor of the Exchequer; to raise a permanent rev-
enue from the colonies by direct taxation ; to be accom-
plished by taxing various articles of foreign produce, and
by establishing stamp duties in the Anglo-American
possessions. It was also proposed to maintain a stand-
ing army of ten thousand men, ostensibly for the defence
of the colonies, but in reality to overawe them and
coerce them to obedience. The following year, Lord
Grenville became prime-minister, and these schemes
were brought before the notice of parliament. It was
inamediately decided that the mother country had an
undoubted right to tax her colonies, and, though the
passage of the stamp act was delayed for a season, a
sugar act was passed at once, which, while it lessened
the duties formerly imposed upon sugar and molasses,
levied new taxes on articles hitherto free, and gave
increased power to the admiralty courts and the royal
collectors of customs.
The news of these proceedings fell like a thunderbolt
upon the colonists, and they rose to a man in open
opposition to this new tyranny. Meetings were held
throughout all the colonies, and petitions forwarded to
the parliament, protesting against the proposed stamp
duties and praying for the repeal of the recent sugar act.
New York was foremost in these demonstrations. On
the 18th of March, 1764, the Assembly adopted and
forwarded a memorial to the ministry, protesting against
this invasion of their rights. But this document ^was
couched in terms so decided that no member of the syc-
ophantic parliament was found bold enough to present it,
CITY OF NEW YORK. 409
and the daring province was afterwards forced to pay
the penalty for this and other acts of audacity in the
total suspension of legislative power. The petitions of
the sister colonies, feebler in tone, were received and
considered, then rejected by parliament ; and on the 22d
of March. 1765, the celebrated Stamp Act was finally
passed. By the provisions of this act, all legal and mer-
cantile documents and contracts, newspapers, pamphlets,
almanacs, etc., were required to be written or printed on
stamped paper, upon which a duty was imposed, and
which was to be sold only by agents appointed by the
British government.
The news of these arbitrary enactments reached New
York early in April, where it was received with the
deepest indignation. Copies of the Stamp Act with a
death's head affixed were hawked about the streets
under the title of ** The FoUy of England and the Ruin
**of America." The citizens assembled, and resolved
that no stamped paper should be used among them. On
the 21st of September, a new paper, called the Consti-
tutional Courant, made its appearance, bearing for its
device a snake divided into eight pieces, with th^ motto,
** Join or Die," and the device was caught up and re-
peated from one end of the country to the other.*
* The appearance of this paper, which was circulated largely in the city, excited
^reat commotion, and efforts were made by the governor and council to discover
the author and printer, but without success. It was a half sheet of medium size,
with the imprint, ** Printed by Andrew Marvel, at the sign of the Bribe Refused, on
** Constitution Hill, North America, and containing matters inteiesting to lAberly,
** and in nowise repugnant to loyalty,'' and was tiated Saturday, September 21, 1765.
The device occupied the centre of the title. It was really printed at Parker's print-
ing house in Burlington, N. J., by William Gbddard, the fictitious Andrew Marvel.
V
410 HISTOBT OF THB
Nor was this the first demonstration of the spirit of
the citizens. In the preceding spring, they had given
his majesty's officers some preliminary lessons which
should have warned them of the temper of the men
with whom they had to deal. The system of impress-
ment was still in vogue, and the naval officers regarded
American sailors as lawful prey. In April, 1764,
the ship Prince George arrived from Bristol, and the
sailors, seeing the Ghurland man-of-war lying in the har-
bor, took possession of the ship and steered up the bay.
No sooner were they perceived by the Garland, than a
boat was dispatched to board the vessel and bring back
some new recruits for his majesty's service. The sailors
were armed and in readiness for their visitors, who
were beaten oflf with little difficulty. Seeing the defeat
of his men, the captain of the Garland opened a fire on
the merchantman, and sent another boat's crew to the
assistance of the first, but the sailors triumphantly pur-
sued their way, and brought their vessel safely into the
harbor, while their discomfited assailants returned to the
man-of-war, vowing revenge on the audacious rebels.
Aggressions of this sort, in truth, were frequent, and
one, which occurred in the ensuing July, aroused the
populace to a public demonstration. Pour fishermen
who supplied the New York markets were seized by
a press-gang, and carried aboard a tender from Halifax,
then lying in the harbor. The next morning, the captain
came ou shore in his barge, but no sooner had the boat
touched the shore, than it was seized by the people, who
Bntniliigle numberwaB iaroed; a oontinoanoe waa never intended. — See Itaiak
Thmnai' " Eietory of Printing,'' ▼ol. il p. 822.
k
CITY OP NEW TORK. 411
bore it oflF in triumph to their rallying-place, the Oom-
mons. The terrified officer oflFered at once to release the
fishermen, and, going to the CoflFee-House, hastily wrote
an order for their release. Armed with this paper, a
party of the Sons of Liberty repaired to the tender and
soon returned in triumph with the prisoners ; but, in the
meantime, the people had burnt the barge. The city
magistrates, who had vainly endeavored to restrain the
populace, met in the afternoon to take cognizance of the
aflfair, but no one knew anything of the authors of the
mischief. The magistrates did not press the investiga-
tion, and the afiair ended satisfactorily to all but the
unlucky captain of the tender. Yet the British ministry
failed to profit by these lessons, and in the face of such
marked and spirited demonstrations, dared to pass an
act which could not fail to root out all lingering aflFection
for the mother country from the hearts of the colonists,
and estrange them from her forever.
The 1st of November was the day appointed for the
Stamp Act to take effect. The stamps were to be pre-
pared in England, then sent to agents in the colonies
accredited by parliament to receive them. James
McEvers was appointed Stamp Distribtftor for New York.
These agents at once became objects of distrust to the
people, who were resolved that this distribution never
should take place. The association of the Sons of Liberty,
founded in the stirring days of the Zenger trial by Wil-
liam Smith, William Livingston and John Morin Scott,
for the protection of popular rights, threatened by the
attempt of Cosby to make the judges and council sub-
servient to the crown by issuing their commissions ** dur-
^
412 HISTORY OP THE
" ing the pleasure of the king," instead of " during good
" behavior " as before, now revived, and circulated its
principles by means of colporteurs and auxiliary associa-
tions throughout the entire middle and eastern colonies.
Of this association, Isaac Sears, John Lamb, Alexander
McDougaU, Marinus Willett, Gershom Mott, Frauds ;•
Lewis, Hugh Hughes, William Wiley, Thomas Robinson, J'
Flores Bancker, and Edward Laight were the leaders, J^
all men of tried patriotism and stanch courage. Through I «
their London correspondent, Nicholas Ray, they
received inteUigence of the movements of the British
parliament, and thwarted them by every means in their H ^
Q
power. The Assemblies, on their part, projected a wirt
general imion of the colonies for mutual protection, and 1 ^
summoned a congress of delegates from the several ijj^
provinces to meet at New York on the 7th of October,
1765, to consult together in respect to the proposed con- I -^
federation. V ^'
On the day appointed, the first colonial congress, con- fl *ft4
sisting of twenty-eight delegates from New York, Penn- fl aie!
sylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, South B^
Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, 1*^;
assembled for deSberation in the City Hall in Wall street ■««<.
The Assemblies of Virginia and North Carolina having I ^
adjourned before the adoption of the measure, no depu- m^^
tation was in attendance from either of these colonies, f ^i
though they sympathized warmly with the objects of the
meeting. Robert R. Livingston, John Cruger, Philip
Livingston, William Bayard, and Leonard Lispenard
composed the New York delegation. Previously to the
meeting, a deputation waited on Lieutenant-Governor m^jfi
ilDAY^BNINOi AUGUST*. 2fi, 1843,
npAOH*-->*l^a«ri»iP of Aitte cyt
«a»mon.b. TwecyaU del.„;«.~;-^
When the CommlMloBci, « |)rt-a,to. ft»«B«I
y; told ,b.m ,h.t .ach . Cm,.„« ,„ unco^tf tT-
//
ThdNew York mer^anta wei» the tni mho
adopted the Qoalmponaftoni^e6meQt» resolatlons
to that effeet having beoapaaeed by them «« e«)y as
'^-'-^ber 2, 1766, or mow ihaa on* month before the
je public meetings
lie agreement or league between the iSans of Li-
}f, ki New York and Connecticut, In 1765, to op-
1 the stamp act, la worthy of particular notice as
JFinS tbe dependence plaaed on th^ YarUeeea and
^olose union between the Pairlots of Acip Y^rk
-JVw England at that period. This paper drawn
^ Sears and his aaaocUtes, commenced as foUowt,
Certain redpvocal aad mitml areemente, con.
•orsand assodattonsmade, concluded and agreed
j»» by and between the Sona of Liberty of the coL
|of New York of theone part, and the Sana of
yrty of me colony of Coiracctknt on the other
}f thia 2Sth day of December, in the sixth year oi
iVeign oi our Soverelga Lo'd Geo^g^ the Tliird
Iff dbc and IM the year of 4QrLot4 1795.'* '
in Cngli^ historian remains that "It is not to
•ttiposed that the disorderly proceedlnca abofe
Med, were cfaaigeable solely on the dre^ of the
onifes. the So»e of Liberty at New Yorif who
Id regular medtiogs; were said to be directed by
iLtk fWaier peraaiis than any Aat appeared aannig
»ni. The mobs consisted not of mere ral%1e ; but
ire composed much more of Independent persona
d freeholders, so that some of ths first people to ttie
t>vlD0B8 ^em intlEnidated. Merehnte, aeeeoMy-
^n, magiatratds Ibc. united directly or indirectly in
la mobs, and without their influence and insi^ga-
in the hmm elaaaea of inhaWtante wouli have bee*
•oD««rLib«rtjfnN«wrork; and one of tlw firl P ' ----- ^
wuiia of th«fr vpointtiMiit waa ih* mA^,t *''"'• *' ^^^ '^"'^ ''"' ■"'•' vloleot actors were
artop*. raaolmion cbu aa mewU.!* ^ J^ .
c«:..ed^re^uon7«rL:^"rr^t
««<» I«*«hW to a and ualM •« one «. M !^
1«T^*"^'"^ *"'*""J' '^""^ AfierVatort
lei j but great pains were taken to rouse them tmo
ion. At New — .- . ... . _ .
^iscopalians."
9^5
|%( ofWaaq i iq imod aan»Q| aiwidiueJ ^is»a i /
] |Wt il^ gjymiOO pVlrtlUIOd OMlim J9A^ii^
.-r^A-^'- .^ .»-.0 ' -s,W04- »fl»P/Ci . . ..•**.... ^
i.iiii^.i
CITY OF NEW YORK. 413
Golden to solicit his sympathy and aid. ** Tour congress
** is unconstitutional, unprecedented and imlawful, and I
** shall give you no countenance," was his sole reply, as
ordered the fortifications to be strengthened, and
everything to be put in readiness for the reception of the
stamps.
Nothing daunted by this harsh repulse, the congress
commenced their deliberations. Timothy Ruggles of
Massachusetts was chosen president. The session lasted
three weeks, during which time a declaration of rights
was adopted, embodying the claims and grievances of
tfie colonies. First enimciating the principle that taxa-
tion without representation was tyranny, the daring colo-
nists went on to prove, that, as distance rendered this
representation impossible to them in the EngUsh parlia-
ment, this right was vested only in the colonial legisla-
tures ; and therefore that the Stamp Act, with all' others
of its kind, was a tyrannical grievance which at once
must be abolished. A respectful address to the king
and a memorial to both houses of parliament was
drawn up and signed by most of the members.
The papers of the day, both royalist and democratic,
were filled with inflammatory articles. Handbills were
circulated among the people by the Sons of Liberty, and
the New York Gazette, or Weekly Post Boy, now published
by John Holt,* became the vehicle of the popular party.
* At this time, three papers were issued in the city ; the New York Gazette, or
Weekly Poit Boy, established by James Parker upon the discontinuance of Brad-
ford's paper in January, 1742-8, and now published by John Holt; the New York
Jlfrettry, first issued in August, 1752, by Hugh Gaine ; and the New York Oatette,
}>iiblij(hed in February, 1769, by William Weyman. In November of the following
year, Parker resumed the publication of the Gazette and Post Boy, and continued
"n
414 HISTORY OF THE
On the morning of the 81«t of October, the day before
that on which the obnoxious act was to take e£fect, the
last-named journal made its appearance in mourning,
headed by the following prologue :
** A Fnnenl Lamentation on the
DEATH OF LIBERTT,
Who finally Expires on this
Slst of October, in the year of our Lord MDOOLTV.,
And of our SUrery
L"
The discourse which followed was worthy of the open-
ing. In the evening, the merchants of the city who
were engaged in the importation of English goods met
at Burns' Coffee House, now the Atlantic Gardens, and
adopted the following resolutions :
1. To import no goods from England until the Stamp
Act be repealed.
2. To countermand all orders already sent for spring
goods.
3. To sell no goods from England on commission.
it until his death in 1770; while Holt issued a new paper under the title of the
Ktw York Jcwmal, <fr Oentral AdnrHtery which remained the organ of the Liberty
Party until the capture of the city in 1776. Holt then removed to Esopus where he
set up his press ; then, upon the burning of the Tillage in October, 1777, he trans-
ferred it to Poughkeepsie, where he continued its publication until the dose of the
war. In the autumn of 1788, it was again printed in the city of New York under
the titie of the Indepefuhnt Gazette^ or the New York Journal JU^ved. Upon tiie
death of Holt, in the following year, the paper was continued by his widow and
Eleazer Oswald until January, 1787, when it passed into the hands of Thomas
Greenleaf, who merged it into two papers— a weekly, entitied QremUafU New York
Journal and PatrioHe Register^ and a daily, with the titie of the New York Journal
amd DaUy PatrioHe RegiUery afterwards the Argut^ or QreenUafe New DaUif
Advertieer, Such was the origin of the first daily paper of New York.
CITT OF NEW YORK
415
CITY OF NEW YOEK. 417
4. To abide by these resolutions until they shall be
rescinded at a general meeting called for the purpose.
These resolutions were signed by more than two hun-
dred merchants. The retailers, on their part, bound
themselves to buy no goods of any person that should be
shipped after the first day of January unless the Stamp
Act should be repealed. To the merchants of New York
city belongs the credit of having been the first to sacrifice
their commercial interests to the cause of liberty. At
the same meeting, a non-importation association was
organized, and a committee appointed, consisting of John
Lamb, Isaac Sears, William Wiley, Gershom Mott and
Thomas Robinson — all prominent members of the Sons
of Liberty — ^to correspond with the other colonies with a
view to the universal adoption of similar measures. A
reward of five hundred pounds was offered for the detec-
tion of any villain who should presume to make use of
the stamped paper, on which the law required that every
vahd instrument should be drawn — ^marriage Ucenses,
business contracts, shipping clearances and legal docu-
ments of all kinds.
On the 23d of October, 1765, while the congress was
still in session, the stamps arrived from England in a
ship commanded by Captain Davis, but the accredited:
stamp distributor was nowhere to be found ; and, not
daring to retain them on board his own ship, the captain ^
transferred them to a man-of-war lying in the harbor.
Fearing the fury of the excited populace, McEvers,
a few days before, had resigned his commission tot the
lieutenant-governor. "McEvers is intimidated, but I
'' am not afraid, and the stamps shall be delivered ini
27
418 HISTORY OP THB
** due time," said Oolden, as he ordered them to be
brought on shore and deposited in the fort for safety.
But so great was the fear inspired by the people that no
official dared touch the papers, and after some delay
they were finally conveyed by Captain Davis to the
governor's house in Port George ; and on the 31st of
October, while the patriots were threatening vengeance
on all who should dare to distribute the papers, Golden
took oaths to carry the Stamp Act into eflFect.
No sooner had the stamps been landed than handbills
appeared as if by magic in the streets, forbidding any
one at his peril to make use of the obnoxious paper.
In the evening, the citizens assembled in large numbers
and marched to the fort, where they were ordered by
the governor to disperse. Without heeding his com-
mand, they fell into line and marched in sUence through
the principal streets of the city — a funeral cortege,
mourning their lost liberty — ^then separated at midnight
and returned quietly to their homes.
The next day was the dreaded first of November — ^the
4ay on which the British parliament had decreed that
•the Stamp Act should take effect. In the course of the
day, more of the mysterious placards appeared in the
streets, but the day wore away without other demon-
stration than the appearance from time to time of more
of the mysterious handbills, posted by an unknown
hand. The grand celebration of the festival was
deferred unt^ e^ieijing. Soon after smiset, two organized
companies, composed in great part of the Sons of
Liberty, appeared in the streets. The first of these
repaired directly to the Commons, where they proceeded
CITY OP NEW YORK. 419
to erect a gallows, on which was suspended an efifigy of
Cadwallader Golden, with a stamped paper in his hand,
a drum at his back, and a label on his breast bearing the
inscription, The Rebel Drurmner of 1746.* . By his side
hung an eflSgy of the devil with a boot in his hand,
designed as a satire upon the Earl of Bute, at whose
instigation they had tlie charity to believe that he had
acted. The other party, meanwhile, proceeded to the
fort, carrying an efifigy of Golden, seated in a chair, and
attended by torch-bearers. The procession was followed
by a crowd of citizens. They broke open the stable of
the lieutenant-governor, and, taking out his chariot,
placed the eflBgy in it, then returned in triumph to rejoin
their comrades, who were just raising their gallows to
take up their march to the city. Both companies imme-
diately mingled into one, the strictest orders were given
that not a word should be spoken or a stone thrown, and
the long procession set out for the fort, where they foimd
the soldiers drawn up on the ramparts ready to receive
them, and the muzzles of the cannon aimed directly at
their ranks. But, notwithstanding this threatening
demonstration. Gage, who was then the British com-
mander, prudently restrained his troops from firing, well
knowing that their first volley would be followed by the
instant destruction of the fort. The rioters knocked at
the gate for admission, which, of course, was denied
them ; then, proceeding to the Bowling Green, they tore
down the wooden palisades about it, and kindling a fire.
* Colden had serred as a drammer in 1746 in the army of the Pretender, henoe
the aUiuion.
420 BISTORT OFTHB
burned carriage, gallows, efBgies and devil. Hitherto
the proceedings had been conducted with the utmost
decorum. But the fury of the populace could be
restrained po longer, and, despite the remonstrances of
the more moderate of the Sons of Liberty, an excited
party broke loose from their companions, and, proceed-
ing to Vauxhall, on the comer of Warren and Green-
wich streets, at that time occupied by Major James of
the British army, a stanch friend of the Stamp Act, who
had incensed the people by some insolent expressions,
broke open the house, rifled it of its rich fiirniture,
kindled another bonfire and consumed the whole in the
flames. Not an article was spared, with the exception
of the royal colors, which were borne away as a trophy
by the party — pictures, mathematical instruments,
books, curtains, carpets and furniture — all were involved
in the general ruin. Major James was afterwards
indemnified for his losses by the corporation, but,
regarding the act in the light of a just punishment, they
refused the same satisfaction to Golden.
The next evening, the people assembled again upon
the Commons, and determined to march to the fort and
to demand the delivery of the stamped paper. But
before this resolution could be carried into eflfect, Golden
wisely determined to withdraw from the contest, and
issued a bulletin declaring that he would have nothing
at all to do with the stamps, but would leave them to
Sir Henry Moore, the new governor, now hourly
expected, to dispose of them as he pleased upon his
arrival. In the next issue of the Gazette and Post Bay
appeared the following notice :
i
CITY OF NEW TORK. 421
**Tbe governor acquainted Judge Livingston, the
'* mayor, Mr. Beverly Robinson and Mr. John Stevens
*' this morning, being Monday the 4th of November, that
**he would not issue nor suffer to be issued any of the
*' stamps now in Port Gteorge.
(Signed) ** Robert R. Livingston,
'*JoHN Cruger,
'* Beverly Robinson,
**JoHN Stevens."
The following notice also appeared without signa-
tures:
" The freemen, fSreeholders and inhabitants of this
*' city, being satisfied that the stamps are not to be issued,
** are determined to keep the peace of the city, at all
** events, except that they should have other cause of
" complaint."
But this anon3rmous communication failed to express
the sentiments of the people. On the following evening,
pursuant to a call issued a few days before, an armed
body of citizens assembled on the Commons, resolved to
storm the fort and obtain forcible possession of the papers.
Alarmed at this demonstration, the governor, who had
been fruitlessly negotiating with Captain Kennedy of the
ship of war Coventry, then lying in the harbor, to receive
the stamps on board his vessel, consented to yield, and
delivered them from the fort gate to the mayor and cor-
poration, who had previously demanded them at his
422 HISTORT OF THE
hands, promising to be accountable for their safe-keeping,
accompanied with a letter which we transcribe entire :
" Fort Obobob, Nov. 5th, 1765.
**Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen of the Corporation : In
* consequence of your earnest request, and engaging to
' make good all such sums as might be raised by the
* destruction of the stamps sent over for the use of this
* province that shall be lost, destroyed, or carried out of
*the province, and in consequence of the unanimous
* advice of his majesty's council, and the concurrence of
* the commander-in-chief of the king's forces, and to
* prevent the effusion of blood and the calamities of a
* civil war which might ensue from my withholding
* them from you, I now deliver to you the packages of
^ stamped paper and parchments that were deposited in
* my hands in this his majesty's fort ; and I doubt not
* that you will take the charge and care of them con-
* formably to your engagement to me.
'* I am, with great regard, gentlemen,
** Your most ob'dt humble servant,
** Cadwalladbb Colden.''
The mayor and corporation received the stamps amid
the huzzas of the people, returning to the governor the
following receipt :
** Received from the Honorable Cadwallader Golden,
'' Esq., his majesty's lieutenant-general and commander-
'* in^chief of the province of New York, seven packages
*' containing stamped papers and parchments, all marked
CITY OP NEW TORE. 423
" ' No. 1, James McEvers, I. M. E., New York/ which
** we promise, in behalf of the corporation of the city of
"New York, to take charge and care of, and to be
*' accountable in case they shall be destroyed or carried
•' out of the province. Witness our hands.
(Witness) "John Cbugbb, Mayor,
"L. F. Cabby,
" Major to the 60th Reg't.
"Jambs Fabquahab."
The formalities of the transfer having thus been con-
cluded amid the ironical cheers of the multitude, the
Sons of Liberty escorted the civic authorities to the City
Hall, and, .after seeing the stamps deposited there in
safety, quietly dispersed. It was not long before a new
outrage roused them to action. Previously to the
delivery of the papers, the cannon in the king's yard and
on Copsey's battery had been spiked, as was alleged,
by the orders of Colden, to prevent the people from
making use of them in case of an attack upon the fort.
It was never clearly proved that the governor was guilty
of tliis charge, but the majority of the people were fully
persuaded of it at the time, and loudly expressed their
indignation. A petition was even addressed to the
Assembly, entreating them to deduct the amount of
damages from the governor's salary ; but the request,
which came from an unknown source, was at once
rejected, and a reward was oflFered for the discovery of
the writers. The excitement, however, continued for
some time, the citizens inveighed bitterly against Colden
as the author of the mischief, and even burned bis
424 HISTORY OP THE
effigy, seated on a spiked cannon, one night on the
Commons.
The Committee of Correspondence that had been
appointed on the Slst of October wasted no time in
idleness, but at once addressed circulars to the merchants
of the sister-cities, inviting them to join rn the non-in-
tercourse agreement as the best method of frustrating
the designs of Great Britain. These unhesitatingly
answered to their summons, and the suspension of trade
soon became universal. To lessen the inconveniences
felt by the citizens, a fair was opened a little below the
Exchange for the sale of articles of home manufacture,
and the citizens soon learned to appreciate the internal
resources of their own country, and to sacrifice foreign
luxuries on the shrine of patriotism. To wear silks and
broadcloths was accounted a disgrace, the wealthiest and
most fashionable appeared clad in the homespun linsey-
woolsey, and the grand-dames cheerfully exchanged the
once indispensable tea and coffee for decoctions made
from the fragrant wild herbs of the American soil. Docu-
ments continued to be written and newspapers printed
on unstamped paper, and betrothed couples, dispensing
with the now hateful licenses, were proclaimed in church
by bans as in olden time.
Nor was this all ; the Committee of Correspondence,
impressed with the idea that union was power, framed
articles of confederation banding the colonies together
in resistance to the Stamp Act, and providing for the
assembling of a general congress to concert measures ft>r
future action in case the British ministry should perast
in enforcing it. These articles were sent to the eastern
CITY OF NEW YORK. 426
and southern colonies for their concurrence, by whom
they were at once unanimously adopted.
On the 11th of November, the corporation tendered
an address to General Gtige, the commander-in-chief of
the British forces in America, congratulating him upon
the restoration of the city to tranquillity and its preser-
vation from the horrors of a civil war, and imputing the
]-esult to his prudence in not hei^tening the spirit of
discontent already so prevalent in the colonies, by firing on
the citizens on the night of the riot* In truth, whether
from prudence or otherwise, a remarkable spirit of for-
bearance had been manifested, for the guns of the fort
had been turned upon the rioters during the whole of the
proceedings on the Bowling Green, and, with the aid of
the ships of war then lying in the harbor, nothing would
have been easier than to have accomplished the destruc-
tion of the city. It is true that the act would have ciUled
forth a terrible retribution ; but that was in the future,
while the chances for an easy capture lay close at hand.
Gage curtly replied to this bold address, that the spirit
which so lately had been riiown among them had been
carried almost to open rebellion, and recommended them
to show their respect to his majesty less in words than in
deeds, and to use their best efforts to calm the madness
of the people, and to bring them back to a sense of the
duty which they owed their superiors. The two parties
were now generally distinguished bs Whigs and Tories,
names originally imported from England ; but the New
York patriots still continued to retain their favorite
appellation of Sons of Liberty,
About this time, th» siup Minerva^ Captain Tillet,
426 HISTORY OF THE
arrived in the harbor, bringiiig a second shipment of
stamps and a new stamp distributor in the person of
Peter De Lancey, jr., who had been appointed in the
stead of the recreant McEvers. With her also came
the newly-appointed governor. Sir Henry Moore, who at
once won the affections of the people by declaring that
he would have nothing at all to do with the obnoxious
papers. The stamps were deposited with the rest in the
City Hall, and a Comiftittee of the Sons of Liberty
waited on De Lancey, and warned him that his wisest
course would be to resign. De Lancey yielded with a
good grace to the necessity, and, protesting that, when
he received the appointment, he was ignorant of the
objections of the people, resigned his commission and
published a disclaimer in the papers of the day. A
formal renunciation was also exacted of McEvers, and
the city was thus freed from these dreaded officials. But
the Sons of Liberty went even further ; on learning that
Zachary Hood, one of the stamp distributors for Mary-
land, had fled for protection to Governor Golden, and
had taken shelter at Flushing, on Long Island, they sent
a deputation to compel him to resign, and to abjure his
office publicly by oath — a service for which they afterwards
received the grateful thanks of their Maryland brethren.
Delighted with the favorable disposition evinced by
the new governor, the civic authorities gave him a cor-
dial reception, and the Sons of Liberty held a grand
mass meeting in the Commons, now the rallying-place
of liberty, where they erected a pyramid and kindled
bonfires in his honor. They had previously tendered
him a congratulatory address, which had been received
CITY OF NEW YORK. 427
with favor. In fact, everything augured well for the good
intentions of the new governor. Anxious to conciliate
his subjects, he ordered the fortifications which had been
commenced by Golden at the fort and the battery to be
discontinued, and declared that he did not intend to
meddle with the enforcement of the Stamp Act. The
Assembly, which met on the day of his arrival, confirmed
the action of their committee in the colonial congress,
and adopted resolutions of the same import.
About the same time, the ship Hope, commanded by
Captain Christian Jacobson, arrived from London, and
the fact was chronicled with the comment that Captain
Jacobson was the first who had had the honor of refusing
to bring stamps to America.
On the 25th of November, the merchants met again
at their usual place of rendezvous, and resolved to con-
tinue their non-importation agreement, despite the
deadly blow which it inflicted on their interests. A
committee was also appointed to frame an address to be
presented to the Assembly, complaining of the restric-
tions on trade, and especially protesting ag;ainst the
appeal from the decision of juries, which Colden had
sedulously endeavored to introduce.
The vigilant Sons of Liberty, meanwhile, had received
information that stamps were yet on board the Minerva,
designed for the sister colony of Connecticut. A call
was issued at once for the gathering of the brotherhood,
and at midnight on the 26th, the vessel was boarded,
but no papers were found. They had been transferred
to another vessel. Gaining a clew to this fact from their
brethren of Philadelphia, the patriots kept a lookout for
428 HISTORY OF THE
the suspicious craft, and as soon as she hove in sight,
boarded and searched her. This time, the search was
not in vain. Ten packages of stamps were discovered
by the self-appointed custom-house officers, which were
taken up to the ship-yards at the foot of Catharine street
and burned there. Soon after, it was discovered by the
indefatigable Sons of Liberty that a merchant of the city
by the name of Lewis Pintard had sent a bond to Philadel-
phia written on stamped paper. The vender of the stamp
was immediately sought out, his house searched, and the
stamped paper which was found there committed to the
flames. Mr. Pinfeird screened himself from their ven-
geance by taking an oath that he was ignorant at the
time of its transmission that the bond had been written
on stamped paper. Those energetic measures elicited
the approbation of the other colonies, and encooumiis
were lavished by the members of the sister cities on the
gallant conduct of the patriots of New York.
About the middle of December, Captain Blow arrived
from Quebec, bringing with him a stamped pass from
General Murray, the governor of Canada. This was the
first piece of stamped paper that had appeared in the
city. It was immediately posted up at Burns' Colfee-
House, the general rendezvous of the Sons of Liberty,
and gazed at by the dejected citizens as the epitaph of
their freedom. In the evening, a procession of patriots
paraded the streets of the city, bearing a gallows on
which was suspended three effigies — ^tliat of Lord Qren-
ville, the author of the Stamp Act ; of Lord Colville,
who had endeavored to enfbrce it by stopping colonial
vessels ; and of General Murray, who had signed the first
01 TT OF NEW TOEK. 429
piece of stamped paper that had made its way into the
city of New York. The march ended, the efBgiee were
taken to the Commons and burned there.
Not less energetic were the demonstrations of the other
colonies in respect to the odious Stamp Act. Seeing the
determined attitude of the people, the ministry at length
determined to recede, and repealed it on the 20th of Feb-
ruary, 1766. On the 20th of May, the news reached New
Torlf, where it was received with the greatest enthusi-
asm. On the following day, the people assembled on the
Commons, and manifested their delight by every possible
demonstration. Bells were rung, cannon fired, and a
public dinner given by the civic j^uthorities. In the
evening, bonfires were kindled in the fields, and the whole
city was illuminated in honor of the triumph of liberty.
Not content with this, the patriots assembled again
on the Commons on the 4th of June — the king's birth-
day— for a second celebration, and Moore, hoping thus
to strengthen their loyalty, politically encouraged them
in their rejoicings. An ox was roasted, and twenty-five
barrels of strong beer were provided, with a hogshead
of rum, and the necessary ingredients to convert the
whole into punch. A pole was erected, about which
were piled twenty-five cords of wood, with twelve blaz-
ing tar-barrels suspended at the top, while at another
part of the Commons, twenty-five cannon fired a salute,
to the sound of which the royal standard was raised
amid the shouts and huzzas of the excited populace.
But the crowning event of the day was the erection of
a pole or mast inscribed, **The King, Pitt, and Lib-
"erty" — a Liberty-Pole which served as the rallying-
430 HISTORY OF THB
point for manjr a sharp contest during the succeeding
years, and which came to stand for a principle almost
as dear to the New Yorkers as that of personal taxation.
The repeal of the Stamp Act served, in the first flush
of victory, to cover a multitude of sins. But it was not
long before the colonists looked more closely at the con-
ditions which surrounded it. In the first place, the
right of G-reat Britain to tax the colonies was distinctly
asserted, even by Pitt, the so-called champion of Ameri-
can liberty. Yet, despite this, a large meeting of the
citizens assembled at Bums' Cofiee House on 23d of
June, and petitioned the Assembly to erect a statue in
honor of William Pitt. The request was granted. It
was also determined to erect an equestrian statue of
George III. on the Bowling Green, and a hundred
pounds were appropriated for the purchase of a service
of plate for John Sargent, in token of the fieuthful ser-
vices which he had rendered in England as agent of the
colonies. The statue of Pitt was of marble, and was set
up in Wall street on the 7th of September, 1770. The
statesman was represented in a Roman toga, with a half-
open scroll in his right hand, on which were the words,
Articuli Magna Charta Libertatum. The left hand
was extended, as if in the act of delivering an oration.
The pedestal bore the inscription : " This Statue of the
** Right Honorable William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was
** erected as a public testimony of the grateM sense the
*' colony of New York retains of the many eminent ser-
** vices he rendered to America, particularly in promot-
"ing the repeal of the Stamp Act, Anno Domini 1770,"
It did not long retain its place. After the occupation
CITY OP NEW TORE. 431
of the city by the Britiah in 1775, the head and right
hand were struck off by the soldiery, in revenge for the
insults before offered by the Americans to the statue of
George III. The headless trunk remained standing xmtil
after the evacuation in 1783, when it was removed to the
Bridewell Yard. It was thence transferred to the yard
of the Arsenal near the Collect, and finally found its way
to the corner of Franklin street and West Broadway,
where its headless trunk may now be seen in front of the
basement entrance of the Museum Hotel.
Nor did the leaden equestrian statue of George III.,
which was erected on the Bowling Green in front of Fort
George on the 21st of August, 1770, amid the noise of
artillery and the huzzas of the people, meet a better fate.
In the revulsion of feeling which followed the imposition
of the duty on tea, the horse and rider was thrown from
its pedestal and dragged through the streets by the
indignant patriots ; then run into bullets for the use of
the Revolutionary soldiers. The pedestal of the statue
remained standing for some time longer, and was finally
removed a few years after the cloee of the war.*
We have already mentioned the erection of a Liberty
* This statue has a curious history. Erected during the outburst of loyalty that
followed the repeal of the Stamp Act, upon the reception In New York of the news
of the Declaration of Independence, it was dragged from its pedestal by a band of
patriots headed by Belden, and sent, hewed in pieces, to Litchfield, then the resi-
dence of OliTer Wolcott, the patriot gOTernor of Connecticut, by whose wife and
daughters it was run into bullets, of which the Whigs of the surrounding country
were inyited to come and take freely. In their hands, they did good service, killing
four hundred British soldiers during the subsequent inTosiou of Connecticut by
OoTemor Tryon. Forty-two thousand bullets were made from the statue. The
saddle-cloth was sunk in a marsh opposite the house of Wolcott, where it wai quite
recently discovered by accident and exhumed, ami, after passing through Tariout
432 H.I S T 0 B Y OF THE
Pole on the Commons, on the 4th of Jmie, 1766. This
formed the pretext for a series of outrages which kept
the city in a perpetual ferment, and goaded on the peo-
ple to open civil war. The British soldiers detailed for
the protection of the city were at that time quartered in
the barracks standing on the line of Chambers street,
and were thus brought in daily contact with the people.
Enraged at some triumphant expressions of the Sons of
Liberty, on the 10th of August, a party belonging to the
28th Regiment cut down the Liberty Pole which had
been erected on the king's birthday. The next day, the
citizens assembled on the ConMnons, and were preparing
to erect another in its stead, when they were attacked
by an armed party of soldiers and forced to disperse.
Several of their number were seriously wounded, among
whom were Isaac Sears and John Berrien, both promi-
nent members of the Sons of Liberty. The citizens
complained loudly of this outrage, and Theophilus
Hardenbrook and Peter Vandervoort made affidavits
before the mayor, charging the soldiers with having,
without provocation, ^commenced the assault. But the
conduct of the soldiers was approved by their officers,
and their commander, Major Arthur Brown, coolly told
the mayor that the whole charge was an utter falsehood
and, though the affidavits were sustained by abundant
testimony, refused to punish or even reprimand the
oflFenders. The Liberty Pole was set up again by the
hands, was purchased bj Mr. Riley of the Musenm Hotel, wh^re it stOl remains, a
fitting oompanion for the statue of Pitt; though the question nataTaOy arises,
whether the rooms of the Historical Sodely would not be the fitter repository for
) interesting relics.
CITY OF NEW YORK.
433
U
CITY OF NEW YORK. 435
citizens and suffered to stand a few days longer, then
levelled to the ground on the night of the 23d of Sep-
tember. Before two days had passed, a third one was
erected in its stead, and the soldiers, restrained by the
orders of Moore, permitted it to stand without further
molestation.
During the whole winter, the city was harassed by
continual outrages on the part of the soldiers. Houses
of peaceable citizens were broken open and plundered
under pretext of searching for proofs of rebellion. On
one occasion, a soldier forced his way into the dwelling
of an industrious carman, arid, after wounding him
severely with his bayonet, hamstrung his horse and thus
deprived him of his only means of support for his family.
No notice was taken by the officers of these aggressions ;
on the contrary, they rather countenanced them in
secret, and urged on the soldiers to fresh assaults, hoping
thus to break the spirit of the people, and to awe or
coerce them into abject submission.
On the 18th of March, 1767, the people met on the
Commons, and celebrated the first anniversary of the
repeal of the Stamp Act with the greatest enthusiasm.
This demonstration awakened the ire of the British
soldiery, and, before morning, the Liberty Pole was again
levelled to the ground. Nothing daunted, the next day
the Sons of Liberty set up another and more substantial
one, well secured with iron bands, in its place. On the
same night, an attempt was made to destroy it, but
without success. The next night, another attempt was
made to blow it up with gunpowder, which also proved
a failure. Incensed by these repeated assaults, the Sons
436 HISTORY OF THE
of Liberty set a strong guard around the pole. For
three successive nights, the soldiers renewed their
attacks, but each time were beaten oflFby the people. At
length the governor, who had himself been suspected
of secretly inciting the soldiers, interfered and peremp-
torily commanded them to desist. The pole continued
to stand, a trophy of the victory of the people, and on
the king's birthday, which happened not long after, the
Union flag was run up to its top, and cannon planted at
its foot answered derisively, gun for gun, to the royal
salute from Fort George.
Let us return to the proceedings of the New York
Assembly of 1761-1768, — a body which, by its daring
acts in the cause of liberty, won for itself political mar-
tyrdom from the British ministry and a crown of lasting
glory from all true patriots. Through the whole of the
eventful Stamp Act epoch, the Assembly of New York
stood true to the interests of the country, and to its bold
protests against the enactment of the odious Stamp Act,
its determined attitude in the struggle which ensued, and
most of all, its earnest advocacy of the union of the
colonies, aided by the efforts of the vigilant Sons of
Liberty, may be attributed much of the almost miracu-
lous success which attended the coming struggle for
independence.
We have already spoken of the Declaratory Act,
asserting the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies.
Simultaneously with this was passed the Mutiny Act,
requiring the citizens to fiimiah quarters for all the
soldiers that might be stationed among them by the royal
orders, and to provide them with various necessaries ;
CITY OF NEW YORK. 437
and Sir Henry Moore was instructed to lay the matter
before the Assembly on his arrival, and to see that the
troops were suppUed according to the provisions of the
Act. New York was at this time full of soldiers ; it was
the head-quarters of the British army under General
Gage, and new regiments of troops were daily expected.
The people at once detected in these movements the
fixed determination of the ministry to establish a stand-
ing army among them — a measure utterly abhorrent to
their spirit of independence — and refused to comply.
The Sons of Liberty banded together in open opposition,
and the Assembly of 1766, to whom Moore communi-
cated his instructions on his arrival, resolved that they
could only legally be required to provide for soldiers on
the march, and that, as there were already barracks
enough to accommodate the soldiers then in the city, the
requisition was wholly unnecessary for the present.
They oflFered, however, to appropriate a sum which had
been left over from the appropriation of a preceding
year, to the support of two battalions not exceeding five
hundred men each, but absolutely refused to maintain
any more, or to furnish vinegar, salt and liquors as the
provisions of the act required, limiting the supplies to
candles, bedding, fuel and cooking utensils, as actual
necessaries of life. They also refused to indemnify
Golden for the damages which he had sustained on the
night of the riot, in opposition to the express commands
of the king, alleging that he had suflfered through his
own misconduct ; though they granted Major James the
required compensation, attributing his losses to the
excitement of the mob. During this year, Whitehead
438 HISTORY OF THE
Hicks, a lawyer of the city, the descendant of a family
of Friends who had settled in Queens County in the
early days of the province, was chosen mayor.
Distasteful as were these limitations to the governor,
he was forced to receive them as the best that could be
obtained, though he complained bitterly in his letters to
the ministry of the ingratitude shown by the coloniste
after the gracious repeal of the Stamp Act. The
answers brought him back a reprimand for yielding;
and on the 17th of November, 1766, the mortified gov-
ernor communicated to the Assembly the king's positive
refiisal to receive the Limited Supply Bill, and the instruc-
tions of Lord Shelbume in respect to their future con-
duct. ** I am ordered by his majesty," said Shelbume
in these, ** to signify to you that it is the indispensable
" duty of his subjects in America to obey the acts of the
" Legislature of Great Britain. The king both expects
**and requires a due and cheerful obedience to the
" same ; and it cannot be doubted that his majesty's
" province of New York, after the lenity of Great Britain
" so recently extended to America, will gratefully yield
*' a prompt submission."
On the 15 th of the following month, the Assembly
answered this arbitrary message by another 'as bold and
decisive in tone. Insisting that, by strict construction,
they could only be required to supply soldiers on the
march, they declared that they had already, by the
rejected Supply Bill, assumed heavier burdens than
were borne by any other colony, and declared that,
though they were willing to support his majesty^s gov-
ernment, it must be in conformity with the circumstances
CITT OF NEW YORK. 439
of their constituents. '* And in conclusion," said they,
*' we cannot, consistently with our duty to these con-
'* stituents, consent to put it in the power of any person,
" whatever confidence we may have in his prudence and
"integrity, to lay such burdens upon them at his
** pleasure." This bold response was forwarded to the
king, and the Assembly was prorogued by the governor
while waiting for an answer.
Displeasing as was the conduct of the Assembly to
the ministry, it was almost equally so to the Sons of
Liberty, who protested also against the Limited Supply
Bill as an actual concession to the policy of the British
government. But, urged on by rumors of warlike pre-
parations in England, as well as by the threats and persua-
sions of the governor, they finally yielded another point,
and consented to grant a further appropriation of three
thousand five hundred pounds for the preceding and three
thousand pounds for the ciurent year to defray the expen-
ses of the soldiers quartered among them. This compli-
ance, while it incensed the Sons of Liberty, was too slight
to atone for their past audacity. Besolved to punish the
contumacy of the daring representatives, and to humble
their arrogance, both houses of parliament, with scarcely
a dissenting voice, passed a law suspending the legislative
power of the Assembly, and forbidding the governor to
assent to any bill from them until the Mutiny Act should
first be complied with.
The news of this disfranchisement produced intense
excitement throughout the colonies. Letters of sympa-
thy poured in from the patriots of New England and
the southern provinces, and the whole country was
440 HISTORY OF THE
roused iu opposition to the flagrant injustice. The
Assembly met as usual, and passed resolutions, declar-
ing that any suspension of colonial legislation was
unconstitutional, and therefore null and void, and pro-
ceeded to appoint committees and transact business aa
before.
They had now a new grievance with which to con-
tend— the immediate cause of the American Revolution.
In 1767, almost simultaneously with the disfranchisement
of the province, Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the
Exchequer, under the ministry of William Pitt, Lord
Chatham, had introduced a bill into parliament, imposing
duties on all tea, glass, paper, painters' colors, and
lead, which should henceforth be imported into the Ame-
rican colonies. This new project for raising a revenue
from America was strictly in conformity with the spirit
of the Declaratory Act, and was unanimously adopted.
The news of the enactment raised a new tempest in
the city. The Sons of Liberty met and renewed their
eflforts to form Committees of Correspondence through-
out the colonies, and the merchants again assembled
and unanimously renewed the Non-importation Act
of 1765. They also wrote letters to the merchants
of Boston, urging them to extend the agreement of non-
importation indefinitely until every duty should be
repealed. This agreement was subsequently entered
into and nominally maintained by all the colonies, but,
of all these, to quote the words of the eloquent Ba,ncroft,
*' New York alone remained perfectly true to her
** engagements, while the other colonies continued to
** import nearly half as much as before."
CITY OF NEW YORK. 441
On the 11th of February, 1768, the recusant Assembly
was formally dissolved by the governor, and measures
taken to convene a mew one in its stead. The governor
had previously received instructions to take care that
the next should be composed of less stubborn materials,
and, whether through his secret influence or from other
existing causes, it is certain that it proved far more
compliant than its predecessor. In the city elections,
the contest ran high between the lawyers and the mer-
chants. Heretofore, the former had been most largely
represented in the Assembly, and had come to view it
almost as a perquisite of their profession. But the scale
now turned in favor of the merchants, who, backed by the
influence of the Sons of Liberty, won the election, and
returned Isaac Low, John Cruger, John Alsop, and
James De Lancey as representatives to the Assembly.
The new Assembly, which convened in 1768, com-
menced their career by following closely in the steps of
their rebellious predecessors. Disregarding the royal
command that they should hold no correspondence with
the other colonies, they received the circular of the
Assembly of Massachusetts, entreating their coSperationi
in obtaining a redress of the common grievances, and I
boldly protested against all interference in the matten
At this time, Boston was prostrate beneath the ban of
the royal displeasure, and the citizens of New York
warmly repaid the sympathy which had been extended to
them in their hour of trial. The patriotic journals of the
day teemed with eulogies of the Boston patriots and
denunciations of their oppressors, and the eflfigiea^of the
royal governor of Boston and hU sherifT wore carried in
442 CITY OP NEW YORE.
procession through the streets of the city, then publicly
burned on the Commons. The governor, who was really
of a conciliatory disposition, endeavored in vain to restrain
these demonstrations and to bring back the people to a
sense of their loyalty. His efforts were suddenly
checked by his death, which took place on the 11th of
September, 1769, and threw the government again into
the hands of Oadwallader Colden.
CHAPTER XV.
1769—1773.
Change in the Anembly— Lord North's Administration— Bemo7ftl of Taxes— Besnmption
oflmportations— Conflicts abont the Liberty Pole— Battle of Golden Hill.
It was not long before Golden, through the instrumen-
tality of De Lancey, won over the members of the new
Assembly to the interest of the royalists. They com-
plied without much reluctance with most of the require-
ments of the Mutiny Act, and projected another scheme
which was viewed by the patriots with much distrust,
as concealing some insidious snare for the liberties of the
colonies. This was the emission of bills of credit to the
amount of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, to
be loaned to the people, the interest of which was to be
applied to the support of the colonial government.
A grant of a thousand pounds from the treasury,
together with a thousand more of the bills about to
be issued, was made for the maintenance of the troops,
and a strong disposition was evinced in favor of the
royalist party.
This new scheme for raising money excited the dis
444 HISTORY OF THE
trust of the people, and rumors were circulated that the
Assembly had betrayed the country to the governor and
the British ministry. On the 16th of December, au
inflammatory handbill, signed by a Son of Liberty,
appeared, addressed to the betrayed inhabitants of the
city.* This document, which was ably and earnestly
written, warned the people against the subtle attack
made on their liberties by the emission of the bills of
credit, as a scheme devised to separate the colonies ;
and, denouncing the Assembly in no measured terms,
closed with an invitation to the people to meet the next
day in the fields and discuss the conduct of tiieir
representatives.
The next day, a large assemblage gathered on the
Commons. John Lamb was chosen chairman of the
meeting. The proceedings of the Assembly were unani-
mously disapproved, and a committee was appointed,
with Lamb at the head, to convey the sense of the
meeting to the Legislature. The latter received the
deputation with courtesy, but refused to make any
change in their policy, declaring that the law was
satisfactory to the mass of the people. On the follow-
ing day, another handbill appeared, over the signature
of ** Legion, "t written evidently by the same hand as
* For this handbill, which ia too long to be giren here, see Appendix, Note N.
f ** To THE Public. — ^The spirit of the times renders it necessary for the inhabitants
** of the city to conrene, in order effectually to avert the destmctiye consequences of
** the late base inqlorious conduct of our General Assembly, who hare in opposition
** to the loud and general Toice of their constituents, the dictates of sound policy^
**the ties of gratitude, and the glorious struggle we have engaged in for our
M inTaluable birthrights, dared to YOte supplies to the troops without the least shadow
«< of a pretext for their pernicious grant. The most eligible place will be in the Fields,
CITY OP NEW YORK. 445
the first, and openly charging the Assembly with a
betrayal of their trust. This second attack roused the
ire of the body ; they at once denounced the papers as
libellous, and oflFered a reward of one hundred and fifty
pounds for the discovery of the writers, Philip Schuyler
alone voting against it. Lamb was accused and brought
before the bar of the House, where he boldly justified all
that he had done, declaring that he had only exercised
the right of every Englishman. His colleagues on the
committee — Isaac Sears, Caspar Wistar, Alexander Mc-
Dougall, Jacobus Van Zandt, Samuel Broome, Erasmus
Williams and James Van Vaurk — seconded his defence,
fearlessly avowing that they were implicated with Lamb,
and equally ready to answer for their conduct, and the
charge, which had been made at the instance of De
Noyellis, was finally dismissed by the Assembly. But
they did not relax their efforts to discover the authors
of the so-called libels. The type afforded a clue to the
printing-office of James Parker, who was at once
arrested, confined in the fort, and threatened with the
loss of his place as Secretary of the Post-office, unless
he would reveal the name of the writer. The menace
produced the desired effect ; Parker denounced Alex-
ander McDougall, who was at once arrested and
imprisoned in the new jail, where a daily ovation was
tendered him by his friends, who regarded him as a
** near Mr. De La Montaigne^s, and the time— between 10 and 11 o'clock this mom-
** ing, where we doubt not eyery friend to his country will attend.
" LXOION."
The original of this and the other handbills quoted here are preserved in the
Ibrary of the Historical Society.
446 HISTOBT OF THE
martyr to the cause of liberty. The ladies flocked in
crowds to the cell of the imprisoned patriot, and so
numerous were his visitors, that, in order to gain leisure
for the defence of his cause, he was obliged to publish a
card, fixing his hours for public reception. He remained
in the jail from February to the April term of the court,
when the grand jury found a bill against him, to which
he pleaded *'not guilty.'' A few days afterward, he
was released on bail.
The Sons of Liberty, meanwhile, continued their
opposition to the Assembly, watching vigilantly over
the maintenance of the Non-importation Act, which the
merchants, on their part, had not ceased to observe.
They also attempted to substitute the vote by ballot for
the old mode of the open vote, but the plan, though
warmly approved by the people, was rejected in the
House by a large majority. In the spring of 1770, a
change took place in the disposition of the British
ministry. Lord North assimied the charge of afifairs,
and, under his direction, the tax was at once removed
from all thp articles enumerated in the bill of Towns-
hend, with the exception of that on tea. This, indeed,
was retained rather in proof of the right of Great Britain
to tax the colonies, than for any considerable difference
in the revenue. But the principle was equally dear
to the American patriots ; they y^eve sworn to resist
parliamentary taxation, and they resolved that they
would not yield a single point which might be construed
into a precedent for future oppression.
In the meantime, the contest had been renewed about
the Liberty-Pole, which, for three years, had remained
CITY OF NBW YORK. 447
unmolested. On the 13th of January, 1770, a party of
soldiers belonging to the 16th regiment attacked it, and,
cutting off the wooden supporters about it, made a fruit-
less attempt to blow it up with gunpowder. Failing in
this, they next fell upon a knot of citizens who had
gathered in front of Montagne's public^house in Broad-
way near Murray street — at that time the head-quarters
of the Sons of Liberty — and forced them into the house
at the point of the bayonet. The besieged vainly
attempted to barricade the doors, but the soldiers broke
in, sword in hand, and demolished the windows and fur-
niture* In the midst of the destruction, some officers
came up, and ordered the soldiers back to their bar-
racks.
On the two following nights, the attempts were
repeated without success ; but, on the night of the 16th,
taking shelter in a ruined building near by, which had
formerly been used for barracks, the soldiers accom-
plished their design, and, levelling the pole to the
ground, sawed it into pieces, and derisively piled it up
before Montagne's door.
This insult aroused the Sons of Liberty. Handbills
were circulated the next day through the city,* calling on
the people to meet that night on the Commons to dis-
cuss the outrage. Three thousand citizens assembled in
answer to the call. The meeting was quiet but earnest.
Resolutions were passed, declaring unemployed soldiers
* TAking warniBg Vr the defectkm of Parker, to escape detection, the laberty
Bofi went at night to Helf a printing-office in Broad atreet near the Exchange, where
ihej let up the type and printed the handbilla themaelTee, then eircnlated them by
their emissaries the next day through the city.
448 HISTORY OF THE
to be dangerous to the peace of the city, while their
employment by the citizens when off duty was detri-
mental to the interests of the laboring classes and should
therefore be discontinued. They further resolved that
all soldiers under the rank of orderly, with the exception
of sentinels, who should appear armed in the streets,
together with all, both armed and unarmed, who should
be found out of their barracks after the roll-call, should
be regarded as enemies of the city and dealt with
accordingly. Committees were also appointed to demo-
lish the ruined building which had sheltered the soldiers
in their attack on the Liberty-Pole, and to ask permis-
sion of the Common Council to erect another in its
stead.
The next day, three soldiers were detected by Isaac
Sears and Walter Quackenbos in the act of posting
throughout the city, scurrilous placards, signed by the
16th Regiment of Foot, and abusive of the Sons of
Liberty.* Incensed at this proceeding, Sears instantly
* ** Ood, and a Soldier, all Men most adore.
In Time of War, and not before ;
When the War is over, and all things righted^
God is forgotten, and the Soldier sUghted.**
** Whbreas, on micommon and riotous disturbance preTails thronghoat this citj bj
" some of its inhabitants, who style themselves the S — s of L j, but rather ma j
<^ more properly be called real enemies to society ; and whereas, the army now quar-
*' tered in New York, are represented in a heinous light, to their officers and others,
'* for having propagated a disturbance in this city, by attempting to destroy their Lib-
** erty-Pole, in the fields ; which, being now completed, without the assistance <»f the
" army, we have reason to laugh at them, and beg the public only to observe how
" chagrined these pretended S — of L look as they pass through the streets ;
** especially as these great heroes thought their freedom depended oq a piece of wood,
" and who may well be compared to Esau, who sold his birth-right for a mess c^ pot-
** tage. And although those shining 8 — of L have boasted of their freedom^
CITY OF NEW YORK. 449
grasped one by the collar, while Quackenbos? laid hold
of the other. The third of the party rushed upon Sears
with his bayonet and endeavored to free his comrade
from his grasp, but the latter, seizing a friendly ram^s
'* rarely they hare no right to throw an aspersion upon the army, since it is out of the
" power of military discipline to deprive them of their freedom. However, notwith-
^* standing, we are proud to see these elevated geninses reduced to the low degree of
" having their place of general rendezvous made a (Gallows Green) vulgar phrase for
^* a common place of execution for murderers, robbers, traitors and r — s, to the lat-
" ter of which we may compare those famous L B — s (Liberty Boys) who have
** nothing to boast of but the flippancy of tongue, although in defiance of the laws
** and good government of our most gracious sovereign, they openly and r y
^* (riotously) assembled in multitudes, to stir up the minds of his majesty^s good sub-
^'Jects to sedition ; they have in their late seditious libel, signed Brutus, expressed
** the most villainous falsehoods against the soldiers But as ungrateful as they are
«* counted, it is well known, since their arrival in New York they have watched night
*' and day for the safety and protection of the city and its inhabitants ; who have suf-
** fered the rays of the scorching sun in summer, and the severe colds of freezing
** snowy nights in winter, which must be the case and fifty times worse had there been
** a war, which we sincerely pray for, in hopes those S — s of L (Sons of Lib-
^ erty) may feel the effects of it, with famme and destruction pouring on their heads.
^ Tis well known to the officers of the 16th Regiment, as well as by several others,
*' that the soldiers of the sixteenth always gained the esteem and good will of the
** inhabitants, in whatever quarter they lay, and were never counted neither insolent
** or ungrateful, except in this city. And likewise the Royal Regiment of Artillery,
** who always behaved with gratitude and respect to every one. But the means of
«« making your famous city, which you so much boast of, an impoverished one, is
*' your acting in violation to the laws of the British government ; but take heed, lest
'* you repent too late— for if you boast so mightily of your famous exploits, as you
*^ have heretofore done (witness the late Stamp Act) we may allow you to be all
^ AuEXUffDEBS, and lie under your feet, to be trodden upon with contempt and dis-
'* dain ; but before we so tamely submit, be assured we will stand in defence of the
«* rights and privileges due to a soldier, and no farther ; but we hope, while we have
" officers of conduct to act for us, they will do so, as we shall leave it to their discre-
^ tion to act impartially for us, in hopes they, and every honest heart, will support
'* the soldiers' wives and children, and not whores and bastards, as has been so mali-
" dously, falsely and audaciously inserted in their impertinent libel, addressed to the
** public ; for which, may the shame they mean to brand our names with, stick od
«< theirs.
" (Signed by the 16th Regiment of Foot, f
29
450 HISTORY OF THE
horn which happened to lie near by, hurled it with force
into the face of his assaihint, who reeled back from the
shock, and left the Sons of Liberty to make their way
with the captives to the office of the mayor.
A reinforcement of twenty soldiers now came up with
drawn swords and bayonets to the rescue of their com-
rades. The unarmed citizens, who had flocked in num-
bers to the spot, wrenched the stakes from the carts and
sleighs that stood about, and, surrounding their pri-
soners, prepared to guard them at all hazards. Mayor
Hicks now interfered, and ordered the soldiers to their
barracks. Yielding a partial obedience, they retired as
fiir as Golden Hill, in John street between William and
CliflF streets, closely pursued by the citizens, where they
were joined by a fresh reinforcement, headed by a pre-
sumed officer in disguise, who gave the command to halt
and charge upon the populace. The few of the people who
had been able to secure weapons ranged themselves in
front of their defenceless friends, and a sanguinary con-
test ensued, in which numbers were injured on either
side. Francis Field, a peaceable Quaker, who was stand-
ing in his doorway watching the affray, received a
severe wound in his cheek. Three other citizens were
wounded, one of them being thrust through with a bay-
onet. At some distance from them, a sailor was cut
down. A boy was wounded in the head, and fled to a
neighboring house for shelter. A woman kindly ope'ned
the door for him, when a brutal soldier made a thrust at
her with a bayonet, fortunately missing his aim. One
of the citizens who had been foremost in securing the
prisoners at the mayor's office was attacked by two sol-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 461
diers at once, but he defended himself vigorously with a
cane, his only weapon, and forced his assailants back to
the hill. Another citizen who was standing in the door
of his house was attacked by a party of soldiers who
attempted to enter — but, being armed, he succeeded in
beating ofiF the intruders-*
During the whole of the aflfray, the citizens had con-
tinued to surround the hill, and thus to keep their
enemies in a state of blockade. Many of the soldiers
were severely wounded, and many more disarmed ; yet
this was done chiefly in self-defence ; the people stand-
ing on the defensive, and contenting themselves with
merely repelling the attacks, when they might easily, if
disposed, have massacred the aggressors. At this junc-
ture, a fresh party from the barracks came up, and
called to their comrades to charge on the citizens, while
they would support them by an attack on the rear, but
just as they were preparing for the assault, a party of
officers appeared, and ordered them to their barracks.
The people at once opened their ranks and raised the
siege, thus ending the first day of the contest in a drawn
battle.
The next morning — the 19th — ^the soldiers recom-
menced the conflict by thrusting a bayonet through the
cloak and dress of a woman who was returning from
market. This dastardly act awakened the indignation of
the citizens, and knots of people gathered ominously
* Michael Smilh, the last snrriyor of the Battle of Golden mil, as well as of the
New York Liberty Boys, died in 1847, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. A
musket which he took from a soldier in the fray, and which did active service in his
hands through the whole of the Revolution, is stiU preserved as a relic in his family.
452 HISTORY OF THE
about the comers of the streets to discuss the outrage
together with the aflfray of the day before. About noon,
a group of sailors, who were invariably found on the
popular side, came in collision with a party of soldiers
from the barracks. A violent altercation ensued, from
words they came to blows, and, in the conflict, an old
sailor was run through the body. In the midst of the
strife, the mayor appeared on the ground, and ordered
the military to disperse, but the infuriated soldiers
refused to obey. He then dispatched a messenger to
the barracks to summon the officers, but the troops inter-
cepted him, and, barring the way with their drawn
bayonets, refused to suffer him to proceed. At this
juncture, a party of Liberty Boys, who had been playing
ball on the comer of Broadway and John street, came
to the rescue and soon dispersed the soldiers, and hos-
tilities ceased for a few hours.
In the afternoon, the battle commenced anew. Seeing
a group of citizens assembled on the Commons in front
of the New Jail, a party of soldiers approached them in
a body and insultingly endeavored to force their way
through, when the citizens quietly opened their ranks,
and gave them free passage. Determined at all hazards
to provoke an affray, they next assaulted the people, and
endeavored to disarm them of their canes. This inso-
lence awakened the ire of the citizens, who turned at
once upon their assailants. A party of Liberty Boys in
the neighborhood, on hearing of the fray, hastened to
the spot, and a sharp conflict ensued, in which the dis-
comfited soldiers were driven to the barracks. Several
of the soldiers were disarmed by the citizens, one was
CITY OF NEW YORK. 453
badly wounded in the shoulder, and another who had
distinguished himself in the conflict of the day before,
was arrested and committed to prison for trial. Thus
ended the battle of Golden Hill — a conflict of two days'
duration — ^which, originating as it did in the defence of
a principle, was an affair of which New Yorkers have
just reason to be proud, and which is worthy of far
more prominence than has usually been given it by stand-
ard historians. It was not until nearly two months
after that the ** Boston Massacre" occurred, a contest
which has been glorified and perpetuated in history ; yet
this was second both in date and in significance to the
New York ** Battle of Golden Hill." *
On the day after the defeat of the British troops, the
mayor issued orders that no soldiers should appear out-
side the barracks when off duty unless accompanied by
a non-commissioned officer ; and the Sons of Liberty,
thus relieved from the annoyance of their presence,
* The following extract from a London journal, dated Tharsdaj, March 15, lYYO,
kindly furnished us bj Henry B. Dawson, Esq., whose researches have done much
to rescue the history of the New York Liberty Boys from oblirion, proves by the
testimony of the British themselyes that, in the streets of the city of New York, the
first blood was shed — the first life sacrificed to the cause of Liberty in the Ameri-
can Reyolution.
** Extract of a Utter from New York, dated January 22.
" We are all in Oonfumon in this City ; the Soldiers haye cut and blowed up Liberty*
" Pole, and haye caused much Trouble between the Inhabitants : on Friday last
" {January 20, 1770) between Burling Slip and the Fly Market, was an Engagement
*' between the Inhabitants and the Soldiers, when much Blood was spilt : One
** Sailor got run through the Body, who since Died: One man got his Skull cut in
** the most cruel Manner. On Saturday {January 21, 1770) the Hall Bell rang for
** an Alarm, when was another Battle between the Inhabitants and Soldiers ; but
** the Soldiers met with Rubbers, the Ohiefest part being Sailors and Clubs to
** reyenge the Death of their Brother, which they did with Courage, and made
** them all run to their Barracks. What will be the end of this God knows !**
454 HISTORT OF THB
turned their attention again to the erection of a Liberty-
Pole. We have ah'eady mentioned the appointment of
a committee to ask permission of the mayor and Com-
mon Council to erect a pole on the plan of the one that
had been cut down by the soldiers. This measure was
opposed by John Lamb and some others, who declared
that the corporation had no voice in the matter, but
their objections were finally overruled by the majority.
On the 30th of January, the committee presented a
memorial to Mayor EQcks and the 'Common Council,
stating that the token of gratitude to the king and his
minister which had been erected by the patriotic citizens
of New York had been repeatedly overthrown by the
riotous soldiery, and craving permission to vindicate the
rights of the people by setting up another monument to
constitutional liberty in its stead.* The request was
* ** To TBI Bom OF LiBIRTT UT THIS GiTT.
*' Gkntlemxh : It's well known, that it has been the custom of all nations to erect
** monuments to perpetuate the Remembrance of grand Events. Experience has
" proved that they hare had a good effect on the Posterity of those who raised
'* them, especially snch as were made sacred to Liberty. Influenced by these Goo-
** siderations, a number of the Friends to Liberty in this City erected a Pole in the
** Fields, on Ground belonging to the Corporation, as a temporary memorial of the
»* unanimous Opposition to the detestable Stamp Act ; which, having been deetcoyed
** by some disaflbcted Persons, a Number of the Inhabitants determined to erect
^^ another, made several applications to the Mayor, as the principal member of^lbe
« Corporation, for Leave to erect a new Pole in the place where the old one stood.
** The Committee that waited on him the last Time, disposed to remove every
*^ Otjeotion, apprehendve that some of the Corporation might be oj^iosed to the
'* erection of the Pole, &om a supposition that those Citizens who were for its bemg
** raised, were actuated solely by a Party spirit, offered, when the Pole was finished,
** to make it a present to the Corporation, provided they would order it to be
** erected either where the other stood, or near Mr. Van Bergh*s, where the two
^ roads meet. But even this, astonishing as it may seem to Englishmen, was
** rejected by the Majority of the Corporation and the other Requisitiona denied.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 455
refused. In the meantime, Lamb and his associates had
purchased a piece of ground eleven feet wide by a hun-
dred feet deep, near the site of the former pole, and,
while the memorial was yet before the board, made
preparations for the erection of a Liberty-Pole, inde-
pendent of the corporation. Here, on the 6th of
February, 1770, a mast of great length, cased two-thirds
its height with u'on hoops and bars, firmly riveted
together, was sunk twelve feet deep into the ground,
amid the shouts of the people and the sound of music.
This pole was inscribed, " Liberty and Property," and
was surmounted by a gilt vane, bearing a similar inscrip-
tion in large ^letters. Thus was raised the fifth Liberty-
Pole in the city, with a motto far less loyal than that
which had so deeply offended the royal soldiery.
Montague's house had heretofore been the head-quar-
ters of the Sons of Liberty, but, ere long, the proprietor
suflfered himself to be won over by the opposite party,
who engaged his rooms for the approaching celebration
of the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Liberty Boys,
however, were not to be balked by this arrangement ;
determining to support an estabUshment of their own,
they purchased a house on the site of Barnum's Museum,
kept by Henry Bicker, which they christened Hampden
*• We question whether this Conduct can be paralleled by any Act of any Corpora-
** tlon in the British Dominions, chosen by the Suffrage of Free People.
** And now, Gentlemen, seeing we are debarred the priyilege of Public Ground
" to erect the Pole on, we have purchased a place for it near where the other
" stood, which is full as public as any of the Corporation Ground. Your Attend-
" anoe and countenance are desired at nine o^olock on Tuesday morning, the 6th
** instant, at Mr. Orommelin^s Wharf, in order to carry it up to be raised.
** Bt OrDIR or THK GOMMITTII.
«*J^eic Ywk, February Z^ 1870.''
456 HISTORY OF THE
Hall, and consecrated to the cause of liberty ; and, on the
19th of March, they assembled for the first time at their
new quarters in defiance of the recreant Montague, and
celebrated the anniversary of the colonial triumph. At
tills time, McDougall was in prison, and his brethren
resolved to give him an ovation. The proceedings
against him having been recorded on the forty-fifth page
of the Joiu:nal of the Assembly, the number had grown
into a cabalistic word among the fraternity. On the
day in question, forty-five toasts were, drunk, among
which was one to Alexander McDougall, and, after din-
ner, the whole company proceeded to the jail to pay
their respects to the imprisoned patriot. Here they
saluted him with forty-five cheers, then, inarching to
the Liberty-Pole, they quietly disbanded.
A similar compliment had been paid to McDougall on
the forty-fifth day of the year, when forty-five of the
Liberty Boys went in procession to the New Jail, where
they dined with him on forty-five beef-steaks cut from a
bullock forty-five months old, and, after drinking forty-
five toasts with a number of friends who joined them
after dinner, separated, vowing eternal fidelity to the
common cause. These demonstrations are trivial in
themselves, but they serve to show something of the
spirit which animated the New York patriots of the
Revolution.
On the 29th of March, a party of British soldiers, who
had been ordered to embark in a few days for Pen-
sacola, made another attack on the Liberty-Pole, a part
of which they had vowed to carry with them as a
trophy. Finding the lower part too strongly fortified,
CITY OP NEW YORK. 457
they attempted to unship the topmast which supported
the vane, but were discovered in the attempt by a few
citizens who happened to pass by and who quickly gave
the alarm. The soldiers hastily retreated to the barracks,
while the Liberty Boys rallied to the defence of the
pole. In the meantime, the soldiers, at first fifteen in
number, had been reinforced by forty more, and returned,
charging with drawn weapons upon the citizens, who
retreated to Hampden Hall. The soldiers, closely pur-
suing them, surrounded the house and attempted to
force the door. Bicker defended the entrance with
fixed bayonet in hand, while the infuriated marauders
swore that they would bum the house with all the rebels
it contained, and take vengeance on the enemies of Eng-
land and King George. A party of Liberty Boys who
had escaped from the pole, hastened to St. George's
Chapel in Beekman street, and rung out a general alarm.
The citizens flew to arms, and the British officers, seeing
that the affair was becoming serious, and warned by the
result of the battle of Golden Hill, hastened to the spot
and ordered their men to the barracks. A strong guard
was set about the pole every night afterwards until the
3d of May, when the disappointed soldiers set sail for
Pensacola without the coveted trophy. Henceforth, the
Liberty-Pole was left for some years to stand unmolested.
On the anniversary of the repeal of 1775, William
Cunningham, the notorious Provost Marshal of '76,
who had been in the beginning of the struggle a pro-
fessed Son of Liberty, approached the pole in company
with John Hill, and made an assault on the patriots who
were gathered about it. After a short struggle, they
458 HISTOET OF THE
were disarmed and committed to jail. Such is the
popular version of the story. The royalist papers, on
the other hand, assert that Cunningham and Hill were
first attacked by the people, who endeavored to force
them to abjure the king, and, on their refusal, wantonly
maltreated them. Whatever may be the truth of the
matter, certain it is that Cunningham wrecked a terrible
vengeance on the helpless prisoners intrusted to his care
in the following year, after the capture of the city by
the British. The Liberty Pole at the same time was
levelled by his orders — ^its fittest destiny when the liberty
of the city had fled.
Soon after the departure of the troops, a Boston
merchant by the name of Nathan Rogers, who had been
posted by his fellow-citizens for refusing to comply with
the non-importation agreement, visited the city, and the
Sons of Liberty, suspecting that his visit was designed
to win over the New York merchants, resolved to give
him a public reception. On the 10th of May, they
assembled in procession, bearing his effigy suspended
on a gallows, and, passing through the principal streets
of the city, proceeded to his house, attended by four (Mr
five thousand spectators, in order to introduce him in
person to the citizens. In this they were disappointed,
as he had dined out of town. They then repaired with
the effigy to the Commons, where it was burned amid the
acclamations of the people. Terrified at this demon-
stration, Rogers immediately returned to Boston, while
the vigilant Sons of Liberty, learning that he designed
in a few days to vioit Philadelphia, dispatched an
account of their proceedings with a minute personal
1
CITY OP NEW YORK. 459
description of the traitor to their brethren of that city,
urging them to accord to him a similar welcome.
Some time previous to this, a General Committee of
One Hundred had been appointed to watch over the liber-
ties of the city. This was composed in part of moderate
men, who, without belonging to the royalist party,
wavered between it and the enthusiastic Sons of Lib-
erty— who were, in short, conservative. Now that the
duty had been removed from all articles except tea, a
portion of this committee began to talk of resuming the
importations with this single exception. Rhode Island
had openly broken through the non-importation agree-
ment, and the other colonies, though they nominally
protested against the infraction of the compact, were
constantly violating it, and had continued to import
nearly half as much as before. New York alone had
remained faithful to her pledge ; for five years, her com-
merce had been almost totally suspended^ and, weary
of thus sustaining the brunt of the contest, the almost
ruined merchants welcomed the idea, and, believing that
they could now honorably retrieve their fortunes without
the sacrifice of a principle, on the 9th of July, resolved
to resume their importations of all goods with the excep-
tion of the duty-laden tea. In this resolution they felt
themselves justified ; they had been the first to propose
the compact and to urge it upon the notice of the mer-
chants of other cities ; the pledge once given, they had
preserved it inviolate, without compromise and without
evasion ; with ruined commercial interests, impoverished
fortunes, and a suflFering city, they had faithfully adhered
to their agreement, so long as the cause which had called
460 HISTOET OP THE
it forth remained, and now that it was partially removed,
they frankly and openly recalled their obligations, so far
as it seemed to them that they could with honor, and
were, in truth, the last to renounce the compact, as they
had been the only ones to maintain it inviolate.
Yet this conduct failed to please the impetuous Sons
of Liberty, who insisted on preserving the agreement
until the duty on tea should also be repealed, and they,
with all who belonged to their band, continued to
maintain it intact until the end of the struggle. The
eastern and southern colonies, though they had virtually
renounced it long before by their infractions, at first
protested bitterly against the open renunciation by the
New York merchants, but many weeks had not passed
before they followed the example, and formally resumed
their importations with the single exception of the article
of tea.
On the 25th of October, Golden was superseded in
the government by the arrival of Lord Dunmore. The
new governor informed the Assembly of the king's
approval of their emission of bills of credit, and reminded
them that they were expected to continue in well-doing
and not to forget to make due appropriations for the
troops quartered among them. The complaisant body
received the message graciously, and, as a first demonstra-
tion of loyalty, on the 20th of January, 1771, summoned
Alexander McDougall, who was now at large on bail, to
appear before them and answer to the indictment for
libel which was pending over him. McDougall obeyed the
summons, but refused to acknowledge the authorship of
the paper. He was questioned the second time, and
CITY OP NEW YORK. 461
ordered to return a definitive answer. ** The House has
** declared the paper a libel, and the law does not require
" me to criminate myself," replied he in answer to the
second interrogation. ** The House has power to extort
" an answer, and will punish you for contumacy if you
" refuse to reply," exclaimed De Noyellis, at whose
instance the charge had first been brought. ** The
" House has power to throw the prisoner over the bar or
'*out of the window, but the pubhc will doubt the
''justice of the proceedings," interposed George Clinton,
the future governor of New York and vice-president of
the United States, who alone dared avow himself
McDougall's defender. A written answer was finally
submitted by the prisoner, but the House refused to
receive it, alleging that its contents reflected on the dig-
nity of their body. " The dignity of the House would
** be better supported by justice than by overstrained
** authority," exclaimed Clinton, indignantly. But the
Assembly refused to listen to his remonstrances, and
upon McDougairs refusal to ask pardon for the offence,
committed him to jail without further ceremony. A writ
of habeas corptis was immediately sued out, but the
House refused to deliver him up, alleging the existence
of precedents in the English courts of law, and he was
detained as a prisoner until the last of February, when,
through the efforts of his friends, he obtained his
release.
It was not long before the government was again
changed by the transfer of Lord Dunmore to Virginia,
and the appointment of William Tryon in his stead. The
new governor arrived with his family, on the 8th of July,
462 HISTORY OP THB
1771, and was well received by the people. Directly-
after his arrival, the Assembly voted him an income of
two thousand pounds ; but he refused its acceptance,
saying that his salary was to be paid from his majesty's
treasury, and that he had been forbidden to receive any
gifts from the Assembly. A similar ofiFer had previoudy
been rejected by Lord Dunmore. This was a new
scheme of the British government for securing the sub-
mission of the colonies ; the treasury in question was
intended to be supplied ft*om the colonial taxes, the dis*
bursement of which was thus retained in the hands of
the ministry.
Hardly had Tryon arrived in the province before
Isaac Sears was called upon to pay the penalty of his
previous daring. His prominence in the public censure
of the Assembly had never been forgotten, and to
punish him, he was accused of having neglected his
duty as inspector of pot and pearl ashes. George Clin-
ton, Philip Schuyler and Nathaniel Woodhull warmly
espoused his cause, and numerous affidavits were made
before the House to prove his fidelity to his duty ; but
these failed to appease the irate Assembly ; Sears was
condemned to political decapitation, and Montague, the
tavern-keeper, appointed in his stead.
Few outbreaks occurred within the next two years,
yet the spirit of opposition continued to grow more
intense among the patriot citizens. Complete stagnation
prevailed in the city, public improvements were totally
neglected, and the people thought only of resistance to
oppression. Commerce, indeed, was partially resumed,
but the use of tea had become obsolete in the city, and
CITY OF N EW YORK,
463
any citizen who would have dared to introduce i% on his
table, would have been branded at ouce as a traitor
to his country.
The only edifice of any consequence erected in the
city from the building of the Brick Church in Beek-
man street in 1768 to the close of the Revolution,
was the New York Hospital, the corner-stone of which
was laid by Governor Tryon on the 2d of Septem-
ber, 1773. The site at this time was far out of town,
and any one would have been considered visionary
hew York Hospital, in Broadway (bet wee u DiUiu. uaa Authooy Streets).
464 HISTOBT OF THE
indeed, who would have dared to suggest the possibility
that the city might one day crowd upon its grounds.
The scheme had been projected some years before ; in
1770, several physicians notified Golden that sundry
public-spirited individuals were collecting subscriptions
for a public hospital, and in the following year, a royal
charter was granted the institution. The necessary
funds having been subscribed, the present square of five
acres on Broadway was purchased in 1773, and build-
ings erected at a cost of about eighteen thousand dollars.
Before their completion, the interior was burned out
by an accidental fire, and the works thus retarded for a
considerable time ; they were finished, however, in time
to be used as barracks by the English troops during
their subsequent occupation of the city. After the
evacuation in 1783, the hospital was restored to its
original use, and was opened in 1791 for the reception
of patients. Since that time, it has undergone various
transformations, yet a part of the old edifice of 1773
still remains incorporated into the present institution.
On the night of the 29th of December, a fire broke
out in the governor's house in the fort, which had been
rebuilt since its destruction in the days of the negro plot
of 1741, and was now occupied by Governor Tryon, and
so rapid was the progress of the conflagration, that the
inmates barely escaped with their lives, while the houses
in the vicinity were only saved by the snow which lay
thickly upon the roofs. The governor and his wife fled
through a side door, their daughter saved herself by
leaping from a second-story window, but a young
servant girl by the name of Elizabeth Garrett, perished
OITT OF NEW YORK. 465
miserably in the flames. The house was burned to the
ground, with all that it contained. Two days after-
wards, the great seal of the province was raked out from
the ashes uninjured. The governor removed with his
family to the house on the comer of Wall and William
streets, afterwards occupied by the Bank of New York,
where the Legislature tendered him their condolences,
and presented him with five thousand pounds by way
of indemnification for his loss. It was not long before
business recalled him to England, and he set sail from
the city, leaving the government again in the hands of
Gadwallader Golden.
30
CHAPTER XVI.
177S— 1776.
Hie New York Tea Party-jCommencement of Open HoetOitfeB— Declaration of Inde-
pendence in Kew York— Battle of Long Island— Bottle of Harlen Plains— Capture of
Fort WaahingtMi—The Brittsh in Poeseaaion of the City.
Affairs were now rapidly drawing to a crisis. Incensed
by the steadfast refusal of the colonists to receive the
tea, the ministry determined to force it upon them, and,
despite the remonstrances of the East India Company,
who oflFered to pay double the amount of the American
impost, provided parliament would repeal the tax, passed
a law, permitting the Company to export their tea to
the colonies free from the duties which they had hitherto
paid in England, and only retaining the duty of three-
pence per pound which was paid in America. As this
enabled the Americans to obtain their tea cheaper even
than the English, it was thought that they would be
entrapped by the insidious snare, and unguardedly yield
assent to the principle of parliamentary taxation.
As soon as it was known that this bill had passed
and that large shipments of tea had been ordered for
America, the Sons of Liberty again assembled to consult
CITY OF NEW YORK, 467
together in this new emergency. Stamp Distributors
and Tea Commissioners were declared by them to be
alike obnoxious^ and it was resolved that no tea should
be landed in the city ; while the Mohawks, another
organization of the same stamp, pledged themselves to
take care of the tea-ships on their arrival.
The news of these demonstrations soon reached Eng-
land, and so much alarmed some of the commission-
merchants that they refused to have anything to do with
the shipments of tea to the colonies, so firmly persuaded
were they of its certain destruction. A merchant named
Kelly, who had resided in New York but was now in Lon-
don, assured them that their apprehensions were ground-
less, and that the tea would be landed, saying that, in the
days of the Stamp Act, affairs were in the hands of an
imbecile old man, but that now a soldier was at the head
of the government, who could easily reduce the rebels to
obedience. On hearing of this, the patriots called a
meeting, and burnt Kelly in effigy on the 5th of Novem-
ber in front of the Coffee House on the corner of Pearl
and Wall streets.
Taking alarm at these expressions of the people, the
three Tea Commissioners who had been appointed for
New York resigned their commissions on the 10th of
November. The tea-ships had sailed from England on
the 26th of October, but had been forced to put back by
stress of weather. On the 25th of November, the
Mohawks were notified to be in readiness for their
arrival, and, two days after, the Sons of Liberty formally
reorganized and passed the following resolutions, which
are of sufficient importance to be transcribed entire :
468 HISTORY OF THE
" Resolved, That whoever shall aid or abet, or in any
'^ manner assist in the introduction of tea from any
" place whatsoever into this colony, whUe it is subject,
** by a British Act of Parliament, to the payment -of a
** duty for the purpose of raising a revenue in America,
"shall be deemed an enemy to the liberties of
** America,
** Resolved, That whoever shall be aiding or assisting
** in the landing or carting of such tea from any ship or
** vessel, or shall hire any house, storehouse or cellar, or
''any place whatsoever to deposit the tea, subject to
'' such duty, as aforesaid, shall be deemed an enemy
•* to the liberties of America.
** Resolved, That whoever shall sell or buy, or in any
" manner contribute to the purchase of tea, subject to
** duty, as aforesaid, or shall aid or abet in transporting
"such tea by land or water from the city until the
" 7th Geo. III. Chap. 46, commonly called the Revenue
"Act, shall be totally and clearly repealed, shall be
" deemed an enemy to the liberties of America.
^'Resolved, That whether the duties imposed by this
" act be paid in Great Britain or in America, our liber-
" ties are equally aflFected.
" Resolved, That whoever shall transgress any of these
"resolutions, we will not deal with or employ, or have
" any connection with him."
The spirit of these resolutions, coupled with the
energetic preparations of the New York patriots,
demonstrate clearly the reception which they held in
store for the tea-ship on its arrival. But the expected
vessel encountered a severe tempest on her way, and was
CITY OP NEW YORK. 469
forced to put in at Antigua for repairs. Intelligence
having been received that she might hourly be expected,
on the 16th of December, the very day of the Boston
tea-party, the Sons of Liberty assembled in the City
Hall, and unanimously resolved that no tea should be
landed under any pretext. In the midst of their delib-
erations, the mayor and recorder entered, bearing a
message from the governor, in which he assured the
people that the tea should be sent back in the ships that
brought it, but must first be taken into the fort to await
an order for its return from the council. The snare was
a subtle one, and it nearly entrapped the assembly.
But John Lamb detected the artifice, and, springing to
his feet, he read the Act of Parliament, and pointed out
therefrom that if the tea were landed, the duty must be
paid. " Shall it be received ?" asked he, in conclusion.
" No ! no ! no !" was the imanimous reply, and the dis-
appointed ambassadors withdrew to carry to the governor
the tidings of their failure.
The winter wore away without much event. The long
expected tea-ship, delayed by contrary winds, failed to
make her appearance, yet the patriotic citizens relaxed
nothing of their vigilance, but, through their committees,
of correspondence, kept themselves notified of everjr
suspicious movement on the part of their enemies. On
the 7th of April, Tryon set sail for England, leaving tie-
government in the hands of Golden. As yet there had'
been no rupture between him and the people, who»
were disposed to regard him with favor for his lax observ-
ance of his rigid instructions, and he quitted the prcmnca*
with their sincere regrets.
470 HISTOBY OF THE
On the 18th of April, 1764, the Nancy, Captain
Lockyer, arrived oflF Sandy Hook, bringing the tea
destined for the port of New York. Apprised of her
coming, the Committee of Vigilance had instructed the
pilots to detain her in the lower bay, as well as the
London, commanded by Captain Chambers, which, they
had been informed, was also on the way with a consid-
erable quantity of the prohibited tea. Faithful to their
orders, the pilots refused to bring the vessel up to the
city ; while a part of the committee proceeded on board,
and, securing the boats to prevent the desertion of the
crew, took possession of the vessel until she should be
ready to return to England. The captain entreated
permission to go up to the city to consult with his con-
signee, and to obtain the necessary suppUes for his
return. This was granted him on condition that he
should not approach the Custom House, and he was sent
under strict surveillance to the wharf, where he was met
by the committee and a large concourse of citizens.
.Seeing that all attempts at evasion would be in vain, he
ytroceeded at once to his consignee, who refused peremp-
icmly to receive the cargo, and advised him as his best
oour-se to return with it to England. This advice was
seconded by the Vigilance Committee, who rendered
every facility for preparing the vessel for sea, but refused
to suffer a single sailor to come on shore, while they
kept a watchful eye upon all the movements of the
captain.
The vesBCil being nearly ready for sea, it was deter-
mined to give the captain a public leave-taking, and
numerous placards were posted through the city, inviting
CITY OP NEW YORK, 471
the citizeus to join in the demonstration.* On the day
after these were issued — the 22d of April — ^the London
with her recreant captain, a New Yorker, who had once
received the public thanks of the city for refusing to
bring tea on a previous voyage, appeared ofiF Sandy
Hook, where she was instantly boarded by two of the
Vigilance Committee, The captain assured .them that
there was no tea on board his ship, and, as none was to
be found on his manifest, he was finally permitted to
come up to the city. The wharf was thronged with cit-
izens, and was a scene of intense excitement. Hardly
had the vessel touched the shore when she was visited by
the whole committee, who demanded the deUvery of the
tea. Chambers repeated his denial. He was told in
reply that they knew that the tea was there, and that
they would search every package in the ship till they
found it. Finding it impossible to escape the dreaded
search, he at length confessed that there was really some
tea on board, but insisted that it was only a private
adventure, belonging to himself, and shipped without
the knowledge of the East India Company. The Com-
mittee then withdrew to the Cofifee House on the corner
of Pearl and Wall streets to deliberate, taking the
•
* The placard in question ran as fbUows : ^^Jhthe PMic — ^The sense of the city
** relatiye to the landing of the East India Company^s tea, being signified to Captain
** Lockyer by the Committee, nevertheless, it is the derign of a number of the citizens
** that Mt his departure hence, he shall see with his own eyes their detestation of the
** measures pursued by the ministry and the India Company to enslave this country.
** This will be declared by the convention of the people at his departure fh>m this city,
** which wiQ be on next Saturday morning, at 9 o'clock ; when, no doubt, every
** friend to tUs country will attend. The bells will give notice about an hour b^r«
""he embarks from Murray's Wharf.
"iVeiB ForJfe, AprU 21, 1774. «*Bt okoib of thi Committbi.''
1
472 HISTORY OF THE
captain and the owners with them. The people mean-
while thronged the wharf, awaiting the result of their
council. It was not long before a message was sent out
declaring the tea to be confiscated, and directing the
Mohawks to be ready to discharge their duty at the
proper hour. But the impatience of the crowd could be
restrained no longer; at eight in the evening, they
boarded the vessel without waiting for the Mohawks,
forced open the hatches, hoisted eighteen chests of tea
on deck, broke open the lids, and emptied the contents
into the river. The captain wisely kept at a distance to
avoid the risk of following his adventure. Everything
was conducted decorously and openly, a guard was sta-
tioned below to prevent all disorder, the citizens wore
their usual attire, and no attempt was made at disguise
or concealment. Two hours afterwards, the whole party
had dispersed, and the wharf was empty and silent as
the grave.
The next day was the one appointed for the festival,
for which they had now an additional hero. At nine in
the morning, the people assembled in front of the CoflFee
House in Wall street where Lockyer was lodging. The
whole city wore an air of festivity, the bells were ringing
in merry chorus, the City Hall and King^s College* alone
refusing to contribute to the chime, the flag was hoisted
on the Liberty Pole, and the ships in the harbor displayed
* Dr. Myles Cooper, the President of King's College, wis a stanch loyalist, and
soon became obnoxions to the people by his support of the British gOTemment
Hearing soon after that the Liberty Boys intended to attack his cottage, he fled to
Stoyreeant's house on the shores of the North Riyer, whence he escaped to the Asia
man-of-war then lying in the harbor. He afterwards went to Bngiand, where be
remained during the war.
OITT OF NEW YORK. 473
their colors in triumph. The committee who had Oaptaan
Lockyer in charge brought him out on the balcony and
introduced him to the people, by whom he was received
with ironical cheers, the bands, meanwhile, playing
*' God save the Eling," The presentation over, his new
acquaintances escorted him to the foot of Wall street
where a pilot boat was in waiting, where they parted
with him, wishing him a pleasant journey. As he entered
;he boat, a royal salute was fired from the cannon at the
!bot of the Liberty-Pole in honor of his departure,
I/aptain Chambers, meanwhile, had been escorted to the
ihip with less ceremony by another committee, and the
Nancy set sail with both worthies on board, still under
the guard of the Vigilance Committee, who did not sur-
render possession of the vessel until she was three leagues
from Sandy Hook.
The British ministry, meanwhile, incensed at the
colonial reception of the consignments of tea, had made
the refractory provinces feel the weight of their ven-
geance. The tax was insisted on more strongly than
ever, new provisions were made Tor quartering troops in
America, Franklin was removed from his office of
colonial post-master, and Boston was punished for her
rebellion by a Port Bill, closing her harbor and removing
her custom house to Salem. In this emergency, the
Bostonians, on the 13th of May, resolved to renew the
non-importation agreement, and dispatched a letter by
Paul Revere to the Sons of Liberty in New York,
urging their cooperation in the measure. This missive
was crossed on the way by another from the Liberty
Boys, bearing date the 14th, urging the Bostonians to
474 HISTORY OP THB
energetic measures, and assuring them of the hearty sup-
port of their New York brethren.
On the 16th of May, a meeting of the citizens was
held at the Exchange to consult on future action. A
new Committee of Fifty-one was nominated to corres-
pond with the other colonies, and a general meeting of
the people was called for the 19th to reject or confirm
the nomination. At the latter meeting, the ticket was
confirmed, and the request of the Bostonians referred to
a sub-committee, consisting of Alexander McDougall,
Isaac Low, James Duane and John Jay, to prepare and
report an answer. The majority of this Committee, —
for the impetuous McDougall indignantly withdrew,
demanding the adoption of more ultra measures —
deemed it inexpedient for the present to renew the com-
pact, but recommended a General Congress of Deputies
from all the colonies instead, and requested the Bosto-
nians to fix the time and place of meeting. For this
action, they were then and afterwards censured severely,
yet the future career of the men who composed the
committee in question is conclusive proof that they were
actuated by no lack of patriotism, and that, though their
resolves seemed for the moment to chime with the wishes
of the royalist party, they only sought to postpone the
compact until it could be better matured by concerted
deliberation. But the enthusiastic Sons of Liberty would
listen to no temporizing, and summoned a meeting of the
people in the fields on the 6th of July at six o'clock in
the evening, to discuss the conduct of the Committee of
Fifty-one.
On the day appointed, an immense multitude gathered
CITY OP NEW YORK
475
\S\\ ^^^^^™^' v.*.'^M\V
Portrait of Alexander Hamilton, from the Original Portrait in the PoweMion of the
Family.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 477
on the Commons — ^Alexander McDougall presiding over
the assembly — ^known henceforth as the ** great meeting
'' in the fields/' Resolutions were passed, denouncing the
Boston Port Bill and sustaining the action of the people
of that city ; a subscription was opened for the relief of
the sufferers, and the non-importation agreement was
again renewed. The Congress recommended by the
Committee of Fifty-one was also approved by the meet-
ing, and it was resolved that deputies should at once be
appointed, and instructed to insist upon the enforcement
of the non-intercourse agreement until every duty should
be repealed. At this meeting, Alexander Hamilton,
then a youth of seventeen, and a student in King's Col-
lege made his maiden speech, and gave an earnest of his
future brilliant career.
On the following day, the Committee of Fifty-one met
and disavowed the proceedings of the meeting. Upon
this, eleven of the Sons of Liberty — Francis Lewis,
Joseph Hallet, Alexander McDougall, Isaac Sears,
Thomas Randall, Leonard Lispenard, Peter V. B. Liv-
ingston, Abram P. Lott, John Broome, Jacob Van
Zandt and Abraham Brasher — withdrew from the com-
mittee, and published an address to the people, in
justification of their conduct. The plan of the general
Congress had now been decided upon, and polls were
opened under the inspection of the mayor and aldermen
for the election of delegates, at which all tax-payers
were allowed to vote. The nominations had been made
by the Committee of Fifty- one, in conjunction with a
Committee of Mechanics, and consisted of Philip Living-
ston, John Alsop, Isaac Low, James Duane and John
478 HISTORY OF THE
Jay. For the latter, the seceders endeavored to sub-
stitute McDougall ; but the attempt was defeated, the
whole ticket was elected, and the delegates soon after-
wards set out to join the second Colonial Congress,
which assembled at Philadelphia early in September.
This Congress adopted a Declaration of Colonial Rights,
the composition of which is attributed to John Jay, iii
which they claimed for themselves all the privileges
enjoyed by British subjects, protested against standing
armies and parliamentary taxation, and declared eleven
acts which had been passed since the accession of
George III., to be infringements upon their rights, and
therefore unconstitutional. They likewise leagued
themselves into an American Association, pledging
themselves to import no goods from Great Britain or
the West Indies until the obnoxious acts should be
repealed, and forbidding traders to increase the price of
their goods in consequence of this agreement. The
slave trade was also denounced by the Association, and
the citizens were urged to develop the internal resources
of their country by the encouragement of home manu-
factures ; and vigilance committees were appointed
throughout the country to see that none of these regu-
lations were evaded. The patriots in the New York
Assembly endeavored to obtain the sanction of that
body to the proceedings of the Colonial Congress, but
were overruled by the majority of conservatives ; yet,
despite this dissent, the House addressed a remonstrance
to Parliament so bold in its tone that the ministiy
refused its reception. The attempt to procure the
indorsement of the resolves of Congress was subse-
i
CITY OF NEW YORK. 479
quently renewed with the same result, and on the 3d of
April, 1775, the Assembly adjourned, never to meet
again. A Committee of Sixty was appointed in the city
of New York to enforce the observance of the aforesaid
regulations. An opportunity was soon offered them for
action. On the 16th of February, the ship James of
Glasgow arrived with a cargo of goods, which the
consignees attempted to land, but were prevented by
the committee, who ordered the vessel to put to sea
again immediately. This order was countermanded by
the lieutenant of a man-of-war, then lying in the harbor,
the captain of which happened to be on shore at the
time. The latter was immediately seized by the com-
mittee, and threatened with their vengeance if he did
not at once retract the commands of his . subordinate.
Terrified by their menaces, he promptly obeyed, and
ordered that the vessel should be suffered to return —
a command which was speedily executed under the
supervision of the committee.
The Assembly having refused to make any provision
for the appointment' of delegates to the next Colonial
Congress, it was determined that they should be chosen
by a Provincial Congress, composed of delegates from
the respective counties. This Congress assembled on
the 20th of April in the city of New York, and
appointed five delegates to the Continental Congress,
which convened at Philadelphia in the ensuing month.
In this Provincial Congress — the first in New York —
the city and county was represented by Isaac Sears, who
had but recently escaped the imprisonment before
suffered by McDougall.
480 HISTORY OP THE
A short time previous to this, the seventy-four gun
ship, Asia, had been ordered from Boston, and anchored
off the Battery with her guns bearing on the town,
while, at the same time, the troops stationed in New
York and New Jersey had been transferred to Boston,
to make room for the reinforcements which were daily
expected. More barracks became needed in that city in
consequence of this arrangement, but the governor
found it impossible to induce any Bostonian either to
furnish the materials or to aid in the erection. In this
extremity, he applied to New York ; but the Sons of
Liberty forbade the citizens to render any assistance
under penalty of being considered as traitors to their
country. Such traitors, however, were found, and the
committee was soon apprised that a vessel had been
fitted out with a cargo of boards and straw for the
barracks at Boston. Upon the receipt of this intelli-
gence, a meeting was at once summoned upon the
Commons, John Lamb and Marinus Willett were chosen
chairmen, and it was resolved to seize the ship and
to prevent her voyage. At this meeting, Sears was the
chief orator, urging the people to arm and to supply
themselves with twenty-four rounds of ammunition —
a recommendation which was at once adopted. For
this bold proposition. Sears was arrested on a warrant
and carried before the mayor. Like his predecessor,
McDougall, he refused to give bail, and was committed
to prison, but was rescued on his way by the people,
who bore him through the streets of the city in triumph,
in ironical defian<5e of the legal authorities.
On Sunday, the 24th of April, 1775, the news of the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 481
battle of Lexington reached the city. This was the sig-
nal for open hostilities. Business was at once sus-
pended ; the Sons of Liberty assembled in large num-
bers, and, taking possession of the City Hall, distributed
the arms that were stored in it, together with a quantity
which had been deposited in the arsenal for safe keeping,
among the citizens, a party of whom formed themselves
into a voluntary corps under the command of Samuel
Broome, and assumed the temporary government of
the city. This done, they demanded and obtained the
keys of the Custom House, closed the building, and
laid an epabargo upon the vessels in port destined foi
the eastern colonies ; then notified the members of
the fraternity in the other cities of what they had done
calling upon them to follow their example.
It now became necessary to organize some provisional
government for the city, and, for this purpose, on the
5th of May a meeting of the citizens was called at the
CoflFee- House, at which a Committee of One Hundred
was chosen and invested with the charge of municipal
affairs, the people pledging themselves to obey its orders
until different arrangements should be made by the Con-
tinental Congress.* This committee was composed in
* This committee was composed of Isaac Low, chairman, John Jay, Francis
Lewis, John Alsop, Philip Livingston, James Duane, E. Dnyckman, William Seton,
WilHam W. Ludlow, Cornelius Glopper, Abraham Brinkerhoff, Henry Remsen,
Robert Bay, Evert Bancker, Joseph Totten, Abraham P. Lott, David Beeckman,
Isaac Roosevelt, Gabriel H. Ludlew, William Walton, Daniel Phoenix, Frederick
Jay, Samuel Broome, John De Lancey, Augustus Van Home, Abraham Duryee.
Samuel Verplanck, Rudolphus Ritzema, John Morton, Joseph Hallet, Robert Ben-
son, Abraham Brasher, Leonard Lispenard, Nicholas Hoffinan, P. V. B. Livingston,
Thomas Marston, Lewis Pintard, John Imlay, Eleazar Miller, jun., John Broome,
John B. Moore, Nicholas Bogert, John Anthony, Victor Bicker, William Ooforth,
31
482 HISTORY OP THE
part of men inclined to the royalist cause, yet, such was
the popular excitement at the time, that they were car-
ried away by the current, and forced to acquiesce in the
measures of their more zealous colleagues. An address
to the Lord Mayor and citizens of London, justifying the
course which the colonists had taken, and assuring
them that the city was **as one man in the cause of
** liberty," was drawn up and signed by most of the
assembly.
The committee at once assiuned the command of the
city, and, retaining the corps of Broome as their execu-
tive power, prohibited the sal^ of weapons to any per-
sons suspected of being hostile to the patriotic party.
They also ordered that all the cannon of the city not
belonging to the colony should be carried away, and
appointed a sub-committee to inquire into the supply of
arms and ammunition then in the city. Everything
wore a martial appearance, the stores and workshops
were closed throughout the town, and armed citizens
paraded the streets, as if the city were in a state of siege.
The moderate men of the committee succeeded in pre-
vailing on their colleagues to present a placable address
to Lieutenant-Governor Golden, explanatory of their
Hercales Mulligan, Alexander McDougall, John Reade, Joseph Ball, George Jane-
way, John Wliite, Crabriel W. Ludlow, John Lasher, Theophilus Anthony, Thomas
Smith, Richard Yates, Oliver Templeton, Jacobus Van Landby, Jeremiah Pfcitt,
Peter S. Ourtenius, Thomas Randall, Lancaster Burling, Benjamin Kiasam, Jaco^
Lefferts, Anthony Van Dam, Abraham Walton. Hamilton Young, Nicholas Roose-
velt, Cornelius P. Low, Francis BassctJ James Beeckman, Thomas Ivors, William
Denning, John Berrien, Benjamin Helrae, William W. Gilbert, Daniel Dunscomb,
John Lamb, Richard Sharp, John Morin Scott, Jacob Van Voorhis, Comfort Sands,
Edward Fleming, Peter Goelet, Gerret Ketteltas, Thomas Buchanan, James Des*
brosses, Petrus By vanck and Lott Embren.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 483
appointment, and assuring him that they should use
every effort to preserve the public peace ; yet ominous
precautions were taken to put the arms of the city in a
serviceable condition, and to survey the neighboring
grounds with a view to erecting fortifications.
A rumor was now spread that a large body of troops
were on their way to New York, and the people at once
petitioned Lieutenant-Governor Golden to use his influ-
ence with General Gage, at this time the commandant
at New York, to prohibit their landing. The Conti-
nental Congress, however, recommended that the troops
should be permitted to land and take peaceable posses-
sion of the city, but, on no account, should be suffered
to erect fortifications, and also, that the warlike stores
should be removed from the town, and a safe retreat
secured for the women and children in case of a siege.
Some time previous to this, a quantity of military
stores belonging to the royal troops had been deposited
at Turtle Bay, near the foot of Forty-seventh street on
the North River, which the Liberty Boys now deter-
mined to take into safe keeping. Headed by their dar-
ing leader, John Lamb, they obtained a vessel from Con-
necticut, sailed up to the storehouse under cover of the
night surprised the guard, and carried off the booty, a
part of which was dispatched to the army at Cambridge,
while the rest was expended in the Northern campaign.
A boat belonging to the Asia was soon after destroyed
by the people, but this act was disapproved by the com-
mittee and the corporation, and the boat restored at the
expense of the city ; and, anxious to prevent all future
excesses, as well as to secure the people from possible
484 HISTORY OF THE
retaliation, the Provisional Congress requested General
Wooster, who was hovering in the suburbs, to take up
his head-quarters in the city, with which request he com-
plied early in June, and encamped with his troops at
Harlem.
In the meantime, the expected troops had arrived and
encamped in the city, whence they were soon afterwards
ordered to repair to Boston. The Sons of Liberty urged
that the whole regiment should be made prisoners, but
the committee, who were not yet prepared for such a
step, gave them permission to depart, stipulating that
they should take with them nothing but their arms and
accoutrements ; but, heedless of this order, they prepared
to embark with all the spare arms in their possession.
Intelligence of this proceeding was speedily conveyed to
a knot of the Liberty Boys assembled at the tavern of
Jasper Drake, in Water street near Beekman Slip, at
that time a well-known rendezvous of the patriots, who
at once determined to stop the embarkation, and hastily
set out by diflFerent routes to rally their friends and take
forcible possession of the weapons. Colonel Marinus
Willett, who was one of the number, hastened to the
Coffee-House to give public notice of the course deter-
mined on by the party ; then proceeded through Water
street to the Exchange at the lower end of Broad street,
where he discovered the troops coming down the street,
with five carts loaded with - chests of arms in front
under a small guard. Without a moment's hesitation,
he advanced to meet them, and, coming in contact with
them at the corner of Broad and Beaver streets, seized
the horse that was drawing the foremost cart, and
CITY OF NEW YORK. 485
brought the whole company to a full stop. The major
at once rode forward to learn what was the matter, upon
which Willett informed him that the committee had
given the troops no permission to carry arms out of the
city, and that he intended to stop the proceeding. While
remonstrating with the officer, the mayor, who was
strongly suspected of inclining to the side of the roy-
alists, came up and ordered Willett to suffer the carts to
pass, reprimanding him severely for thus disturbing the
peace of the city, in which he was supported by Gou-
verneur Morris, who happened to arrive at the same time,
and who supposed that permission for the removal of
the arms had been granted the troops by the committee.
Staggered by this opposition, Willett was on the point of
yielding, when John Morin Scott came up, and, catching
the last words of his remonstrance with Morris, exclaimed
in a loud voice, ** You are right, Willett ; the committee
**have not given them permission to carry off any spare
** arms !" Hardly had the words been spoken when the
intrepid colonel seized the horse's head, which he had
let go in the strife, and, calling upon all of the soldiers
who were unwilling to shed the blood of their country-
men, to come from the ranks to the side of the people,
turned the cart to the right, and ordered the carman to
drive up Beaver street. A single soldier stepped from
the ranks in compliance with the invitation. He was
received with three hearty- cheers by the crowd which had
gathered about the scene of contention, then mounted on
one of the carts and escorted in triumph to the corner
of Broadway and John street, where the arms were
deposited in the yard of Abraham Van Wyck, a stanch
486 HISTORY OP THB
Whig who kept a ball-alley at this place, which was a
favorite resort of the Sons of Liberty. These arms were
afterwards used by the first troops raised in New York
by the order of Congress. The soldiers, meanwhile,
were escorted to the wharf, where they embarked amid
the hisses of the citizens.*
Open hostilities had now commenced. Ticonderoga
and Crown Point had been taken ; the battle of Bunker
Hill had been fought, and George Washington had been
appointed commander-in-chief of the American army.
Yet the people had not yet grown to the idea of inde-
pendence, and the Committee of Safety, when accused
of the thought, indignantly repelled it as treasonable and
preposterous, while even the Sons of Liberty freely
acknowledged the right of England to regulate trade, only
denouncing the principle of parliamentary taxation. On
the 25th of June, Washington entered New York on his
way from Mount Vernon to Cambridge to take command
of the army assembled there. The Provincial Congress
received hiin with a cautious address. Despite their
patriotism, they still clung to the shadow of loyalty ;
fearing to go too far, they acted constantly under pro-
test that they desired nothing more than to secure to
themselves the rights of true-bom British subjects. The
next morning, Washington quitted the city, escorted on
his way by the provincial militia. Tryon had entered
it the night before, and thus had been brought almost
face to face with the rebel who was destined to work
such a transformation in his majesty's colonies of
* See Willett*8 NarratiTe, pp. 28-82.
CITT OF NBW YORK. 487
America. The mayor and corporation received the
returning governor with expressions of joy, and even the
patriot party were glad of the change which relieved
them from the government of Golden. But the city had
greatly changed during his absence. He had left it
mutinous, yet anxious to obey him as far as was pos-
sible, and always disposed to treat him with respect ; he
found it in a state of open rebelUon, preserving the
semblance of loyalty without its substance, and far less
disposed to yield obedience to his orders than to those of
the Provincial Congress, now established among them.
Meanwhile, the colony of New York had been ordered
by the Continental Congress to contribute hef quota of
three thousand men to the general defence, and four regi-
ments were accordingly raised, which were placed under
the command of Colonels Alexander McDougall, Gozen
Van Schaick, James Clinton, and Holmes. Of the first
of these, which was raised from the city of New York,
Adolph Ritzma, the son of the domine of the Dutch
Church, was lieutenant-colonel ; Frederic Wisenfelts, a
Prussian of fine mihtary talents, first captain, and Mari-
nus Willett, second captain. A Swiss oflBcer, by the
name of Zedwitz, served as major of the regiment ; both
he and Ritzma afterwards proved traitors to their trust.
John Lamb was appointed to the command of a com-
pany of artillery, and Wiley, Oswald, Sears and others
of the Liberty Boys entered the ranks, and soon after-
wards set out on the Northern campaign.
The city now presented a curious spectacle, as the
seat of two governments, each issuing its own edicts,
and denouncing those of the other as illegal authority.
488 HISTORY OP THE
It was not long before the two powers came into colli-
sion. Regarding the guns on the Battery as dangerous
to the patriot interest, and needing them for the forti-
fications of the posts in the Highlands, the Provhicial
Congress directed their removal ; and, on the night of
the 23d of August, Captain Lamb with a party of Liberty
Boys and a number of citizens, among whom was
Alexander Hamilton, proceeded to execute the order ; a
part of the company remaining under arms while the rest
were employed in removing the cannon. While thus
engaged, a musket was discharged from the barge of the
Asia, which had been stationed near the shore to recon-
noitre. The fire was returned by Lamb and his company,
killing one of the crew, and wounding several others, upon
which the barge at once made her way to the ship. No
sooner had she reached it than a heavy cannonading was
opened on the town, riddling the houses near the Bat-
tery, and severely woimding three of the citizens. The
drum beat to arms ; a rumor was spread that the British
intended to destroy the city, and many of the people fled
with their wives and children in apprehension of the
impending catastrophe. The intrepid Liberty Boys,
meanwhile, coolly continued their task in the face of
the enemy's fire, nor did they quit the Battery until the
last of the twenty-one pieces had been carried away in
safety. The next day. Captain Vandeput, the com-
mander of the Asia, dispatched a letter to the mayor,
complaining of the murder of one of his men, and
demanding immediate satisfaction. A correspondence
of mutual recrimination, resulting in nothing, ensued, and
on the 29th of August, the Provincial Congress issued
r-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 489
an order declaring that, as the Asia had seen fit to can-
nonade the city, she must henceforth cease to receive
suppUes from it, and must obtain them instead by the
way of Governor's Island.
Hitherto, the governor had remained firm at his post ;
but, finding his position daily growing more perilous,
despite the pledges of the corporation for his personal
safety, he determined to abandon the city, and took
refuge on board the Asia ; from which he kept up a con-
stant communication with his friends on shore, and insti-
gated violent attic Ics oa the Sons of Liberty through
RivingtorCs Gazette,^ the organ of the royalist party.
Finding this journal becoming somewhat too scurrilous
in its abuse, the Liberty Boys, after vainly remonstrating
with the printer, directed Captain Sears to attend to the
matter. Mustering a party of light-horse from Connec-
ticut,- he entered the city at noon on the 4th of Decem-
ber, and, proceeding to the printing-office, forced open
the doors, demolished the press, distributed the types
through the windows, and effectually stopped the paper.
* This joamal, which was first issaed by James Rivington on the 22d of April,
1773, on a large medium sheet, folio, from the beginniDg warmly supported the
cause of the British government, and received the support of the royalists through-
out the country. After the destruction of his office, Rivington went to England,
where he procured a new press, and obtained the appointment of king^s printer for
New York. After the conquest of the city by the British, he returned, and, on the
4th of October, 1777, issued his paper anew, and continued it under the title of
the Royal Gazette untQ the close of the war, when he discarded the royal arms from
the title, which henceforth appeared as RivingtotCt New York Oazeite and
UhiverMol Advertieer, The paper, however, was regarded with coldness ; and, dis-
couraged by the want of popular faith in his conversion, in 178S, he discontinued
its publication, and devoted himself exclusively to the sale of books and stationery.
He also published several volumes, among which were Cook*B Voyages. He was
regarded by his contemporaries as a man of considerable ability.
y
y\
490
HISTORY OP THE
Early in the spring of 1776, General Lee,* who had
commanded the American forces at New York smce the
departure of Wooster, was ordered to Charleston, and
General Putnam was left in sole command of the city.
Putnam fixed his head-quarters at No 1 Broadway, in a
WaaUngton'B Head-quarters in Pearl street.
* Lee came to New York in Janoarj, 1776, with a force of twelve hnndred men,
and took up his head-qoartera at the Kennedy House, the same afterwards occu-
pied by Putnam. Previously to the departure of Washington for Philadelphia, he
lodged while in the city at No. 184 Pearl street; upon his return, he removed
to the Kennedy House, the favorite resort of the officers of the army.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 491
house built by Captain Kennedy of the British army. On
the 14th of April, Washington arrived, having succeeded
in expelling the British troops from Boston, and took up
his quarters at Richmond Hill, on the corner of Varick
and Charlton streets. The idea of independence was fast
gaining groimd, and those who would have shuddered at
the thought a few months before, were now discussing
the expediency of a total separation from the mother
country. At this juncture, '* Common Sense " was pub-
lished in Philadelphia by Thomas Paine, and electrified
the whole nation with the spirit of independence and
liberty. This eloquent production severed the last hnk
that boimd the colonies to the mother-coxmtry ; it boldly
gave speech to the arguments which had long been
trembling on the lips of many, but which none before
had found courage to utter, and, accepting its con-
clusions, several of the colonies instructed their delegates
in the Continental Congress to close their eyes to the
ignis fatuus of loyalty, and fearlessly to throw off their
allegiance to the crown. On the 7th of June, 1776,
the subject was introduced into Congress by Richard
Henry Lee, who offered a resolution declaring '* that the
** United Colonies are, and ought to be, free and inde-
** pendent States, that they are absolved from all alle-
**giance to the British crown, and that their political
** connection with Great Britain is and ought to be
** totally dissolved." A spirited debate followed these
resolutions. The delegates of several of the colonies^
New York among the rest, had received no instructions
how to act in this emergency, and they drew back shrink-
ingly from the perilous step which would condemn them,
492 HISTORY OP THE
if unsuccessftil, to a traitor's doom. Seven of the thirteen
colonies voted in its favor. Armed with this small
majority, Jeflferson, John Adams, Franklin, Sherman and
Robert R. Livingston were appointed to draft a Declar-
ation of Independence ; which, on the 4th of July, was
adopted by Congress, and the British colonies trans-
formed into the United States of America.
On the 10th of July, the news reached New York,
where it was received with the greatest enthusiasm.
Orders were immediately issued for the several brigades
then in the city to meet on the Commons at six in the
evening to hear the document publicly read. At the
hour appointed, the soldiers ranged themselves in a hol-
low square, within which was Washington on horseback
with his aids, on the site of the present Park Fountain,
to listen to the address which, for the first time, pro-
claimed the United States a free and independent nation.
The reading ended, the immense auditory burst into
shouts of applause. The people, impelled by the new-
bom spirit of independence, rushed in a body to the
City ?[all, and, tearing the picture of George HI. from
its frame, rent it in pieces and trampled it under foot.
Proceeding thence to the Bowling Green, they hurled
from its pedestal the statue of the royal tyrant which
they had set up in a fit of ill-judged enthusiasm a few
years before, and dragged it in triumph through the
streets of the city. The statue of Pitt escaped desecra-
tion upon this occasion ; yet the people had lost much of
their reverence for their former idol, and the statue had
already received considerable mutilation from their
hands.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 493
Everything now indicated that the city of New York
had been chosen by the enemy as the next point of
attack. On the 25th of June, General Howe had
arrived at Sandy Hook from Halifax, and had landed on^
the 21st of July at Staten Island, where he found many
partisans of the royal cause. Here he was joined a few
days after by his brother. Admiral Lord Howe, from
England, together with the forces of Clinton from the
South, and thus placed in command of an army of
twenty-four thousand of the best disciplined troops of
England, besides the large reinforcements of Tories which
flocked to his standard, and rendered him invaluable aid
by their knowledge of the country. To oppose this
formidable array, Washington had collected a force of
twenty thousand raw militia — the best at his command —
nearly one half of whom were invalids or detailed for
other duty, while many more were destitute of arms and
anmiunition.
The city, meanwhile, had been strongly fortified. On
the southernmost point of the island was the Grand
Battery, moimting twenty-three guns, with Fort George
Battery, of two guns, immediately above it, in close
proximity to the Bowling Green. The North River
shore was defended by McDougall's Battery, of four guns,
on a hill a little to the west of Trinity Church ; the
Grenadiers' or Circular Battery, of five guns, some dis-
tance above, in the neighborhood of the brewhouse ;
and the Jersey Battery, of five guns, to the left of the
latter. On the East River shore were Coenties' Battery,
of five guns, on Ten Eyck's wharf ; Waterbury's Battery,
of seven guns, at the shipyards ; Badlam's Battery, of
494 HISTORY OF THE
eight guns, on Rutger^s Hill, in the vicinity of the Jew's
burial-ground in Chatham street ; and not far from
that, Thompson's Battery, of nine guns, at Hoorne's
Hook, and the Independent Battery on Bayard's
Mount, now christened Bunker Hill, on the corner
of Grand and Centre streets. Breastworks were
also erected at Peck, Beekman, Burling, Coenties and
Old sUps ; * at the Coffee-House, and the Exchange ;
and in Broad and other streets of the city, and a line of
circumvallation was stretched across the island from river
to river. Fortifications were erected on Governor's
Island, Paulus Hook, Brooklyn Heights, and Red Hook ;
a line of works were thrown up on Long Island
from Fort Greene at the Wallabout to Gowanus Creek,
within which nine thousand men were encamped and the
passages to the city, both by the North and East Rivers,
were obstructed by chains and sunken vessels. The
latter fortifications were erected under the superintend-
ence of General Greene, who was intrusted with the
conmaand of the American forces on Long Island.
General Sullivan was deputed as the assistant of Gh^eene ;
* These slips were simplj openings between two wharres, into which the wood-
boats entered at high water and grounded there, that the cartmen might enter at
low tide to unload them. There were at this time six slips on the East Birer
shore — Whitehall Slip, so called -from the large white house, built by Stujresant
adjoining the slip ; Coenties* (Goen and Antey's) so called from Oonrad Ten Eyek
and Jane, his wife, who lived in the house on Little Dock, now Pearl street
adjoining the slip ; Old Slip, the first in the city ; Burling Slip, which deriyed its
name from Mr. Burling, a merchant on the comer of the Smiths Vly and Golden Hill ;
Beekman*s Slip, so called from Mr. Beekman who resided on the southwest corner
of Pearl street and the slip, and Peck Slip, which received its name fh>m Mr. Peck,
at that time the owner of the lands in its vicinity. The only slip on the North
River was at the foot of Oswego, now Liberty street.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 495
General Nathaniel WoodhuU was directed to forage for
the troops on Long Island, and Washington retained
command of the forces in the city.
Soon after the arrival of the British fleet at Staten
Island, Admiral Howe, who came commissioned by the
British government to treat for peace with the rebels,
as they were contemptuously termed, attempted to
open negotiations with the American forces, and, to this
end, addressed a letter to ** Gteorge Washington, Esq.,"
which Washington returned without reply. He then
dispatched another, addressed to ** George Washington,
etc. etc.," which was also returned; upon which the
general, resolved never to acknowledge the military
rank of a traitor, abandoned all hopes of an accommo-
dation with the rebels, and turned their thoughts to
a warlike policy.
At this critical juncture, General Greene fell danger-
ously ill of a fever, and Washington, anticipating that
New York and Long Island would be attacked simulta-
neously, dispatched General Putnam to take command
at the latter, with strict injunctions to guard the passes
to the American camp, and by all means to hinder the
advance of the enemy. For this, the position of the
ground was well chosen. A range of thickly wooded
hills, extending from the Narrows to Jamaica, and only
accessible by three easily-guarded passes — the first, wind-
ing roimd the western base of the Narrows ; the second,
crossing the range by the village of Flatbush ; and the
third, passing to the right through Flatlands and inter-
secting the road which led from Bedford to Jamaica —
separated the American lines from the expected landing-
496 HISTORY OP THE *
place of the enemy at Gravesend. Near these passes,
breastworks had been erected and three or four regi-
ments stationed, while patrols were set to reconnoitre the
roads and to give the earliest intelligence of the advance
of the enemy. Trusting to the watchfulness of Lord
StirUng and General Sullivan, Putnam, who knew nothing
of the topography of the country, unwisely removed
these patrols from their posts, and thus insured the
defeat of the American army.
Contrary to the expectations of Washington, Howe
determined to reach New York through Long Island,
and on the 2 2d of August, passed over with four thou-
sand men from Staten Island to Gravesend, where he
landed without opposition. Other regiments, commanded
by Earls CornwalUs and Percy, Sir William Erskine,
Count Donop, and Generals Grant, De Heister, and
Knyphausen soon followed, increasing the number to
fifteen thousand men, who stretched along the eastern
base of the hills, where they lay encamped for several
days, reconnoitering the ground and skirmishing with
straggling scouting parties from the American lines.
CUnton was not long in discovering the unguarded
state of the passes through the hills. He at once com-
municated the intelligence to Howe, a consultation was
held by the generals, and a skillful ncse concerted for the
plan of attack. On the evening of the 26th, De Heister,
with the Hessians under his command, advanced along
the road which led through the hills by the way of
Flatbush, while General Grant, with the left division of
the army, took the lower road along the shore ; a manoeu-
vre designed to divert the attention of Putnam, and thus
CITY OP NEW YORK. 497
enable Clinton with the main body of the army to skirt
the hills by an easterly route, gain possession of the pass
in the heights near Bedford, and thence turn the left of
the American lines. The artifice was successful ; Putnam,
apprised by advance parties of the advance of Grant
and De Heister, dispatched a strong detachment under
Lord Stirling to guard the lower road, and another imder
Sullivan to stop the progress of De Heister, and it was
not until the army under Clinton had gained the coveted
position and opened a heavy fire upon Sullivan's rear,
that the ruse was detected by the cheated general. Find-
ing themselves thus completely hemmed in, the troops
under Sullivan, after vainly attempting to break through
the lines of the enemy, scattered in confusion and took
refuge among the hills, where the greater portion with
their commander were soon discovered and taken
prisoners.
The conflict at the river pass was far more sanguinary.
Posted with his troops on the slope of the hilla north
from Greenwood Cemetery, Lord Stirling maintained his
ground against Grant, until the approach of Cornwallis
with a large reinforcement warned him that further
resistance would be in vain. Closely pressed by the>
enemy in front, and having in his rear the deep manAi
and creek at Gowanus, eighty feet in width, two courses
alone remained to him ; either to surrender at once to
the enemy, or to attempt to escape across the creek,
spanned only by the remnant of a half-burnt miU-dam.
He gallantly chose the latter ; and, selecting foui him-
dred men from the Maryland brigade to cover their
flight, he ordered the remainder of his troops to>Detreat,
32
498 HISTORY OF THE
then charged with fixed bayonets with this forlorn hope
upon the brigade commanded by Comwallis. Four times
the desperate charge was repeated ; on the fifth, the
enemy was on the point of yielding, when De Heister
came up from the rout of Sullivan, and commenced an
assault on the rear. This new onslaught determined the
fortunes of the day. Stirling and a portion of the
detachment surrendered themselves prisoners of war;
while the remainder resolutely cut their way through
the ranks of the enemy, only to perish in the deep
morass which ingulfed the most of their number. The
loss of the Americans in this battle amounted to nearly
twelve himdred. men, a thousand of whom, including
Lord Stirling and General Sullivan, remained prisoners
in the hands of the enemy. On the day after the battle.
General Woodhull was also captured while scouting at
the southwest part of the island, and so severely
hurt that he died of his wounds a short time after.
About four hundred of the British were killed, wounded
.and taken prisoners.
iEncouraged by this success, the victorious troops
tadvfmced in front of the American lines, which had been
reinforced during the battle by Waehington in person
with a large body of troops from the city, and made
preps^rations for investing them in form. In this emer-
gency, Washington summoned a council of his oflScers,
and, by their advice, determined to evacuate the island.
In order to conceal this resolution from the British, it
was announced that boats were wanted to transport a
detachment of the American troops to Hellgate in order
to attack the enemy in the rear. At eight in the even-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 499
ing of the 29th, the embarkation commenced mider
cover of a heavy fog and a fine, drizzling rain. To
deceive the British, companies of troops marched and
countermarched from* the ferry to the lines while their
comrades were embarking. At eleven o'clock, the wind,
which had been unfavorable, suddenly changed, and the
boats crossed rapidly, almost under the bows of the
British fleet which was lying in the Narrows, oblivious
of the easy escape of its prey. Nor was this the only
danger to which the Americans were exposed ; a Tory
who lived in close proximity to the ferry, dispatched a
negro servant with the intelligence to Clinton ; but the
slave was apprehended by a Hessian guard, who, not
understanding his language, detained him until morning,
then conducted him to headquarters, too late for his mes-
sage. Washington, who for two days had scarcely quit-
ted his saddle, superintended the retreat of his troops
with intense anxiety, each moment expecting to see them
discovered by the enemy. But the friendly fog screened
them eflfectually, the boats rapidly crossed and recrossed
in safety, and, by sunrise the next morning, the whole
army of nine thousand men, with their prisoners, bag-
gage, and stores, together with most of the wounded,
were safely landed on the opposite shore. The fog
continued till a late hour the next morning, when the
British scouts, suspecting that all was not right from
the dead silence which reigned in the camp, drew
nearer and nearer the American line.* By and by, one,
more daring than the rest, crept cautiously within
* See Onderdonk's Revolationaiy Incidents, pp. 180-1X1.
500 HISTORY OP THE
the works, and finding them abandoned, gave the
alarm, upon which the British army rushed m and
hastened to the ferry, just in time to witness the
escape of their foes.
Thinking this a favorable moment for winning back
the colonies to their allegiance, Howe opened a negotia-
tion with the Continental Congress, promising pardon to
all who would lay down their arms, together with a
repeal of the obnoxious laws in which the struggle had
originated. But this concession came too late ; the
people had grown into a spirit of self-government, and, in
the conference which was subsequently held on Staten
Island, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Francis
Rutledge, the commissioners appointed by Congress for
the negotiation, refused to treat for peace on any other
terms than the full and entire acknowledgment of the
independence of the colonies. This, of course, was
inadmissible. Seeing that no terms could be made with
Congress, Howe issued a proclamation repeating the
oflfer to the people, then proceeded at once to invest the
city.
Notwithstanding the fortifications which had been
erected, it was evident to all that the city could not
maintain a siege against the British on the neighboring
islands and the ships of war which held the harbor in
blockade, and on the 12th of September, Washington
called a council of war, and reluctantly determined to
abandon it to its fate. The military stores were at once
ordered to be removed across the Harlem River, a con-
siderable force was stationed at Eongsbridge, Putnam
was left with a force of four thousand men in the city,
^*.. i
CITY OP NEW YORK. 501
and Wasliington withdrew with the main body of the
army to Harlem Heights.*
What was next to be done ? was a question which
Washington put to himself, but could gain no reply.
The British had complete pocsession of both rivers ; they
could ascend when they pleased, and, landing above him,
hem him in and insure the destruction of his army, for
resistance would be in vain with such unequal forces ;
could attack the city at once, or could cross over from
Long Island and attack him when they thought proper.
That he would eventuall)^ be forced to evacuate the
island, he foresaw clearly — to evacuate it too soon would
be to yield an important advantage to the enemy ; to
linger too long would be to surrender his army. His
own conduct must depend on the movements of Howe,
yet with all his endeavors he had failed to procure the
slightest clue to these movements. In this emergency,
it was resolved, in a council of war, to send a trusty
man to penetrate the enemy's ranks in disguise and
obtain the desired information, and Nathan Hale, a
young officer in the regiment of Knowlton, volunteered
to undertake the dangerous mission. He passed over to
Long Island, penetrated the enemy's lines, made drawings
of his works, and gained full intelligence of the projected
movements of the army. On his return he was recog-
nized as belonging to the American army, and at once
* After his retreat from the dty, Waahlngton first fixed his quarters at the
house of Robert Murray on Murray HUl, whence he issued his instnictioDS to Nathan
Hale, and where he was on the day preceding the landing of Howe. On tlie
16ih, he was at Mott^s Tavern, at the comer of One Hundred and Forty-third street
and Eighth Avenue. He subsequently resided at the house of CoL Roger Morris,
DO the shore .of the Harlem River.
502 HISTORY OP THE
arrested and conveyed to the Beekman House, on the
corner of Fifty-first street and First avenue, now the
head-quarters of General Howe, who, since his departure,
had taken possession of the island. Here he was tried,
convicted as a spy, and sentenced to be hung the next
morning at day-break. He was at once delivered over
to the notorious Cunningham, the Provost-Marshal of
the Revolution, who confined him for the night in the
green-house of the garden, refusing his prayer for a
light and writing materials that he might write for the
last time to his parents and friends. Through the influ-
ence of the lieutenant, these were afterwards furnished
him ; but, in the morning, Cunningham savagely tore the
letters in pieces before his eyes, declaring that the rebels
should never know that they could die with so much
firmness ; and ordered the prisoner to immediate execu-
tion, demanding, as a last refinement of cruelty, that he
should make a dying speech and confession. ** I only
** regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,"
was the calm reply of the doomed patriot. These were
his last words ; the next moment he was suspended on
an apple-tree in the orchard, whence his bones were
thrust into a nameless grave. The tragedy cast a deep
gloom over the army, in which Hale was universally
beloved ; while the heartlessness with which the aflFair
was conducted must ever remain a stigma on tte name
of the British general.
Soon after the departure of Hale on his perilous mis-
sion, the British ships advanced up the rivers, and under
cover of their fire, which swept across the island, Howe
landed at Kip's Bay at the foot of Thirty-sixth street.
CITT OP NEW YORK. 503
The guard stationed there to prevent his landing fled
without striking a blow, followed by the two Connecticut
brigades under the command of Generals Parsons and
Fellows, which had been sent to their support On
hearing the firing, Washington immediately rode to the
scene of action, which he reached just in time to catch a
glimpse of the vanishing brigades. " Are these the men
'* with whom I am to defend America !" exclaimed he,
indignantly dashing his hat upon the ground, as he saw
himself thus deserted by his recreant soldiers. His aids
hurried him from his perilous position, and, seeing that
the island was irretrievably lost, he retired with his
forces to Kingsbridge, sending orders to Putnam to evac-
uate the city. In the meantime, Howe advanced to the
centre of the island, and, encamping on Incleuberg Hill,
made preparations to stretch a cordon across the island
and thus insure the capture of the troops still in tlie city.
The retreat of SiUiman's brigade,* which, by some
* The following aAdarit, copied from the original in the possession of Abraham
Tomlinson, Esq., Poughkeepsie, K. Y., seems to indicate that Putnam was
separated from and considerably in the rear of the retreating brigade :
** Hezekiah Ripley of said Fairfield doth certify that on or about the 15th day of
*' September, 17V6, I was the officiating chaplain of the brigade, then commanded by
*^ GenL Gold S. SiUiman. From mismanagement of the commanding officer of that
^ Brigade, was unfortunately left in the city of New York, and, at the time before
'* mentioned, while the Brigade was in front and myself considerably in the rear, I
" was met "by Genl Putnam, who then informed me of the landing of the enemy
** above us, and that I must make my escape on the west side of the Island, where*
''upon, I, on foot, crossed the lots to the west side of the Island unmolested,
^ excepting by the fire of the ships of war, at the time lying on the North Biver.
" How the Brigade escaped, I was not an eye witness.
'^HlZSKIJiH RiPLKT,
<' Afterwards one of the Trustees of Tale College
"Sept. 26, im."
504 HISTORY OP THE
unaccountable error, remained too long in the city, was,
indeed, eflFected almost by a miracle. Hastily rallying at
Bunker Hill, under the supposition that all the avenues
were in the possession of the enemy, they had just deter-
mined to make a bold stand and sell their lives as dearly
as they could, when Colonel Burr, at this time one of the
aids of Putnam, came up to extricate them from the diffi-
culty by his superior knowledge of the country. Guiding
them by a cross-road from Bunker Hill to a new road,
recently cut through the hills on the line of Broadway,
he led them along the edge of a swamp to the woods
which surrounded the house of Robert Murray, at
Incleuberg Hill, and, passing thence up the Greenwich
Road, reached the Apthorpe House on the road to
Bloomingdale, where Washington was impatiently await-
ing their arrival. In the meantime, Howe, Clinton, Tryon
and a few others had halted for refreshment at the Mur-
ray House, where, beguiled by the smiles and the choice
wines of the Quaker hostess, who had received a hint
from Washington to intercept and detain them as long as
possible, they lingered in forgetfulness of the enemy they
now deemed a certain prey, until a soldier rushed in,
panting for breath, to tell them that the brigade had
passed almost within their grasp, and was now advanc-
ing up the Bloomingdale road. To mount and pursue
them was the work of an instant. Fifteen minutes after
Washington had quitted the Apthorpe House, it was
filled with British troops ; but the few minutes' delay
had saved the retreating soldiers. At ten minutes after
three, the colors were struck in New York, and General
Robertson with his forces took possession of the city.
'■ - — -^
CITY OP NEW YORK. 505
The two armies, separated by Harlem Plains,
encamped for the night ; the one on the heights between
Manhattanville and Kingsbridge, the other in a line
between Hoome's Hook and Bloomingdale. Early the
next morning, two parties, under the command of Colonel
Knowlton and Major Leitch, were detached by Washing-
ton with orders to gain the rear of a body of British
troops stationed on Vandewater's Heights (on the site of
the present Bloomingdale Asylum) while dispositions
were made to attack them in front ; but, by some mis-
take, a fire was opened upon them before the rear was
gained, and, warned of their danger, they made good
their retreat to the main body of the army.
By way of retaliation, Howe ordered a detachment to
push forward through McGowan's Pass and attack the
American lines. They were met by Colonel Knowlton
at the foot of a rocky gorge between the Eighth and
Ninth Avenues, near the Kne of One Hundred and
Twenty-fourth street, who drove them into a cleared
field about two hundred rods distant, where they took
shelter behind a fence and continued the contest. It was
not long before they were forced from this position ;
and, retreating to a buckwheat field four hundred yards
distant, they made a stand on the summit of a high hill,
where, joined by a reinforcement of Hessians, they
fought for two hours with great spirit, but were finally
forced to retreat for the third time to another hill near
the British lines.* The main body now prepared to
* Vide Danlap'8 Hist of New York, vol iL, pp. 11, 78, Lossing's Field Book of the
ReToluUon, vol it, pp. 817-819, and Dswmii'b BatUee of the United States by Sea
and Land, pp. 160-162.
506 HISTORY OF THE
advance to their aid, when Washington, not wishing to
risk a general engagement, prudently retreated, with the
loss of sixteen of his men, among whom was the gallant
Colonel Knowlton. Major Leitch was also so severely
hurt that he died of his wounds a few weeks alter.
The loss of the British, as acknowledged in the official
report, was fourteen killed and seventy-eight wounded.
Clouded as it was by the loss of two valuable officers, the
success of this skirmish greatly inspired the Americans,
who had been much depressed by their last defeat. A
few days after. Major Thomas Henly fell in an unsuccess-
ful attack upon the British forces under the command of
General Heath, which were stationed at Montresors,
now Randall's, Island.
For several weeks, Washington retained his positiou
in the high grounds above Manhattanville, residing mean-
while at the house of Col. Roger Morris, nqjir Madame
JumeFs at Morrisania. Not caring to risk a direct
attack, Howe withdrew the greater part of his forces
from the island and landed them at Throg's Point Id
Westchester County, with a view to cutting ofiF all com-
munication from the eastern States ; while, at the same
time, he dispatched three frigates up the Hudson River to
intercept all supplies from the southern and western
shores. Forced by this movement to evacuate the island,
Washington detached a garrison of three thousand men
for the defence of Fort Washington, and proceeded with
the remainder of his forces to White Plains, where, on the
28th of October, a spirited action took place in which he
lost nearly four hundred of his men ; then, fearing a
speedy repetition of the attack, he withdrew to the almost
CITY OF NEW YORK. 507
impregnable heights of North Castle. No longer daring
to pursue the main body of the army, Howe now
retraced his steps across Kingsbridge, and proceeded to
invest the garrison at Fort Washington.
This fort, which was but the centre of the fortifica-
tions on this part of the island, stood on the shores of
the North River about two and a half miles below
Elingsbridge. The position was a strong one ; the hill
was steep and difficult of access on all sides but the
south, which was commanded by the fort ; and sur-
rounded on all sides by redoubts and batteries. Three
lines of intrenchments, a mile in length, extended across
the island from the Harlem to the North River ; the first
in the vicinity of One Hundred and Fifty-first street ;
the second about half a mile further north ; and the third
westward from Colonel Morris' house along the line of
One Hundred and Seventieth street ; but the works
were unfinished and defended only by a few old pieces
of artillery ; while, to maintain them properly, an army
would have been needed instead of the handful of men
detailed for their defence. Colonel Magaw, who was in
conmiand at the station, remained in the fort ; Colonel
Rawlins, with his regiment of riflemen, occupied a redoubt
to the north and also a small breastwork on the southern-
most part of the island, overlooking Spuyten Duyvel
Creek ; Colonel Baxter, with the miUtia under his com-
mand, was posted along the heights of the Harlem River
opposite Fort Washington ; Colonel Cadwalader, with a
force of eight hundred men, was stationed at the lower
lines which crossed the island, and the rest of the troops
were distributed among the other redoubts and breast-
508 HISTORY OF THB
works at Manhattanville and along the Kingsbridge
Road.
On the 15th of November, a summons to surrender
was sent to the garrison by Adjutant-General Patterson
of the British army, which was peremptorily refused by
Magaw. Early on the following morning, a heavy can-
nonade was opened upon the positions of Colonels
Rawlins and Cadwalader, and about ten o'clock, a large
body of the enemy, headed by Lord Percy and preceded
by their field-pieces, appeared on Harlem Plains and
advanced to attack Cadwalader, who held them in check
for more than an hour and a half, while Washington,
with Putnam, Greene and Mercer, crossed the river from
Fort Lee, and after examining the ground, returned
again to his intrenchments.
At noon, the riflemen of Colonel Rawlins were
attacked by the Hessians under Knyphausen, and, after
defending themselves with great bravery until their rifles,
through frequent charging, became useless in their hands,
were forced to retreat to the fort, whither Knyphausen
pursued them, and intrenching himself behind a large
storehouse in the vicinity, summoned Magaw again to
surrender. Finding his position hopeless beyond redemp-
tion, the commander gave a reluctant assent, and sur-
rendered himself and the garrison, twenty-seven hun-
dred in number, as prisoners of war.
Lord Percy, in the meantime, had been reinforced by
a detachment under the command of Colonel Stirling,
which had descended the Harlem River in bateaux, and
landed in the rear of Cadwalader. After defeating the
parties under Captains Lenox, Edwards and Tudor, which
CITY OF NEW YORK. 509
had been detailed to oppose their landing, the new
troops advanced to the heights near Morris' house, and,
seconding the efforts of Percy, forced Cadwalader to
retreat to Fort Washington, where he was at once made
prisoner by the British, now in possession of the fort.
A few minutes after, the troops of Colonel Baxter,
who had been driven from their groimd with the
loss of their leader by General Mathew and Lord
Cornwallis, came in, and were also made prisoners of
war ; and at half-past one the British flag waved
triumphantly over the fort in token of the undisputed
sovereignty of the island. About fifty of the Americans,
among whom were Colonels Baxter and Miller, and
Lieutenants Harrison and Tannihill, were killed in this
engagement ; one hundred were wounded, and nearly
three thousand made prisoners of war. The loss of Fort
Washington was soon followed by that of Fort Lee;
Washington retreated with his troops through the
Jerseys, and the struggle for liberty in New York was
over.
CHAPTER XVII.
1776—1788.
New York during the Occupation of the Royalists— The British Prisons and Prison Siups
of New York.
The city now lay prostrate in the hands of its captors.
Those of the Sons of Liberty who had escaped imprison-
ment had fled to rejoin the Northern army, or the
patriots who were struggling almost hopelessly in the
Jerseys, and their place was filled by a host of Tories
from the neighboring counties. The Provincial Con-
gress, abandoning the city, held secret meetings, armed
and in disguise, at various towns in the suburbs, con-
stantly changing their place of rendezvous to avoid the
vigilance of the Tory spies who infested the neighbor-
hood. Westchester and Rockland — the so-called neu-
tral ground — were filled with Cow Boys and Skinners;
the former, the avowed friends of King George ; the
latter, ready to attach themselves for the moment to the
party which might offer the greatei^t hopes of plunder.
To guard against the machinations of these, a Committee
of Safety, with John Jay at the head, was appointed by
the Provincial Congress, the adventures of which were
610
CITY OF NEW YORK. 511
fraught with incidents which shame the wildest tales of
romance. Intrigue was thwarted by intrigue ; plot was
met by counterplot. All trust in man was destroyed in
the dark and terrible struggle ; the most intimate
friends, the nearest relatives, were arrayed on opposite
sides in the strife, and none dared be sure that the most
trusted acquaintance, the kindest neighbor, might not be
laying a snare to deliver him up to an ignominious
death from the hands of his enemies. Each party endea-
vored to elude the suspicions of the other, and to lure
the unwary within the American lines or to decoy them
within reach of the British at New York.
The city, meanwhile, became then and henceforth the
headquarters of the British army in America, and the
residence from time to time of its principal officers.
General Howe took up his abode in the Kennedy House
at the lower end of Broadway. General Knyphausen
took possession of a large house in Wall street. The
Hessians under his command were encamped at Corlaers
Hook, whence a line of intrenchments was thrown up
on the Bowery Lane to Bunker's Hill ; while the bar-
racks, the hospital and the empty houses of the Whigs
who had fled for safety were filled with the British sol-
diers. The Beekn}an House in Hanover Square became
the residence of the naval officers arriving at the station;
lliere Admiral Digby afterwards dwelt, with the sailor
prince William Henry — the future William IV. — under
his charge.
About five thousand prisoners were now in the hands
of the British, comprising those who had been captured
at Long Island and Fort Waslungton, together with
512 HISTORY OP THE
many who had been brought in by privateers ; and as
New York was henceforth the British prison-house, this
number received constant accessions during the war.
The privates were crowded into the public buildings ;
the sailors were conveyed to the loathsome prison-ships
which lay, first in the North River opposite the lower
end of the island, and afterwards at the Wallabout ; and
the officers were required to give their parole, then suf-
fered to lodge in the town under the strict surveillance
of the British guard. This permission was in many
instances afterwards recalled, and the officers committed
to the old Provost, the receptacle of the prisoners of
superior rank. Among these officers were Colonels
Magaw, Rawlins, Allen, Ramsey, Miles and Atlee ; Majors
Bird, West, Williams and De Courcey ; and Captains
Wilson, Tudor, Edwards, Forrest, Lenox, Davenport,
Herbert and Edwards, with many others.
The city became emphatically a city of prisons. Every
available building was transformed into a dungeon for
the soldiers of the American army, who, under the super-
vision of the infamous provost-marshal, Cunningham,
with his deputy O'Keefe, and the commissaries Loring,
Sproat and others, were treated with almost incredible
barbarity. The pews of the North Dutch Church in Wil-
liam street were torn out and used for fuel ; a floor was
laid from one gallery to another, and eight hundred
prisoners were incarcerated within its walls. Here they
were allowed neither fuel nor bedding, their provisions
were scanty and of the poorest quality, and many died
jfrom cold and starvation. **The allowance," says Adolph
Myer, of Lasher's battalion, who had been taken prisoner
\
CITY OF NEW YORK. 513
at Montresor's Island, and afterwards imprisoned here,
* was one loaf of the bread left on the evacuation
*of New York (and which had been made for an
* allowance of three days), one quart of peas, half a
' pint of rice, and one and a half pounds of pork for
* six days. Many prisoners -died from want, and others
' were reduced to such wretchedness as to attract
* the compassion of common prostitutes, from whom
* they received considerable assistance. No care was
* taken of the sick, and if any died, they were thrown at
* the door of the prison, and lay there till the next day,
* when they were put on a cart and drawn out to the
* intrenchments,. beyond the Jews' burial-ground, where
* they were interred by their fellow-prisoners, conducted
* thither for that purpose. The dead were thrown into
* a hole promiscuously, without the usual rites of sepul-
* ture."
The Brick Church in Beekman street was at first used
88 a prison, then converted into a hospital for the sick
among the prisoners. The Friends' Meeting-house in
Pearl street and the Presbyterian Church in Wall street
were also used as hospitals, and the French Church in
Pine street was transformed into a depot for military
stores.
The Middle Dutch Church, the present Post-OflSce,
was also stripped of pulpit and pews, and made to
furnish room for three thousand prisoners. ** Here,"
says John Pintard, an eye-witness of the scene, **the
** prisoners taken on Long Island and at Fort Washing-
** ton — sick, wounded and well — ^were all indiscriminately
*' huddled together by hundreds and thousands; large
83
514 HISTORY OF THE
■ * numbers of whom died by disease ; and many were un-
** doubtedly poisoned by their inhuman attendants for the
** sake of their watches or silver buckles." The inmates
were subsequently transferred to the other prisons, and
the church was converted into a riding-school, to train
dragoon horses. The glass was taken from the windows
and the shutters left unhung, the floor was taken up and
the ground covered with tan-bark ; and a pole was
placed across the middle for the horses to leap over.
Just to the east of this, in Liberty street, stood the
old Sugar-house, built in the days of Leisler ; a grey
stone building, five stories in height, with thick walls,
and small, deep windows, which now became one of the
gloomiest of the improvised dungeons of the city. Each
story was divided into two rooms, with ceilings so low
and windows so small that the air could scarce find
entrance under the most favorable conditions. A pon-
derous, jail-like door opened on Liberty street to the
courtyard — a broad, flagged walk about the building,
through which two British or Hessian soldiers were
constantly pacing, night and day. On the southeast,
a heavy door opened into a dismal cellar, also used
as a prison. The yard was surrounded by a close board
fence, nine feet high. In this forbidding prison-house,
secured by massive locks and bars, the wretched prison-
ers were huddled so closely that they could scarcely
breathe, and left for many weary months, without fire
or blankets and with no other clothes than those which
they had worn on their entrance, to while away the
hours of their captivity by carving their names upon the
walls with rusty nails — often the only clue to their
CITY OF NEW YORK. 516
probable fate ; for the typhus fever raged fiercely among
them, and the dead-cart paid its dally visits, bearing
away the writers ere they could finish ^Jie rude epitaphs,
thus left as the sole trace to their friends of their doom.
* III the suflFocating heat of summer,'' says Dunlap, the
contemporary historian of the times, ** I saw every narrow
** aperture of those stone walls filled with human heads,
** face above face, seeking a portion of the external air."
** While the jail fever was raging in the summer of 1777/'
says Onderdonk, in his ** Incidents of the British
Prisons and Prison-ships at New York," **the prisoners
* were let out in companies of twenty, for half an hour
* at a time, to breathe the fresh air ; and inside they
* were so crowded, that they divided their numbers into
* squads of six each. No. 1 stood ten minutes as close
' to the window as they could crowd, and then No. 2
* took their places, and so on ; seats there were none ;
* and their beds were but straw, intermixed with ver-
' min. For many weeks, the dead-cart visited the
* prison every morning, into which from eight to twelve
* corpses were flung and piled up, then dumped into
* ditches in the outskirts' of the city." An interesting:
reminiscence of this prison, as well as of the hospitals of
the city — the more interesting from being one of the few
descriptions on record of the treatment which the sick
received in these hospitals — is found in the narrative of
Levi Hanford, of Walton, Delaware County, New York.
Entering the army in the autumn of 1775, at the early
age of sixteen, he was one of the company sent by Lee,
in the spring of 1776, to break ground for the first
fortifications erected on Governor's Island. In March,
516 HISTORY OP THE
1777, he was surprised and captured by a party of
Tories while on giTard at Long Island Sound, and taken
first to Huntington, then to Flushing, and thence to
New York, where he was incarcerated in the old Sugar-
house in Liberty street.
*' The old prison,'' says he, ** was a stone building,
** six stories high ; but the stories were very low, which
'* made it dark and confined. It was built for a sugar
''refinery, and its appearance was dark and gloomy,
** while its small and deep windows gave it the appear-
** ance of a prison, which it really was, with a high board
** fence inclosing a small yard. We found at this time
** about forty or fifty prisoners, in an emaciated, starv-
** ing and wretched condition. Their numbers were
'* constantly being diminished by sickness and death,
''and as constantly increased by the accession of new
** prisoners, to the number of 400 or 500. Our allow-
*' ance of provisions was pork and sea-biscuit ; it would
** not keep a well man in strength. The biscuit was
'* such as had been wet with sea- water and damaged,
** was full of worms and moldy. It was our common
'* practice to put water in our camp-kettle, then break
" up the biscuit into it, skim oflf the worms, put in the
'' pork, and boil it, if we had fuel ; but this was allowed
'" us only part of the time ; and when we could get no
" fuel, we ate our meat raw and our biscuit dry.
' Starved as we were, there was nothing in the shape of
' food that was rejected or was unpalatable. Crowded
' together, in bad air and with such diet, it was not
* strange that disease and pestilence should prevail.
' I had not been long there, before I was taken with the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 517
'* smallpox, and conveyed to the Smallpox Hospital.
** I had it light, and soon returned to the prison, but not
# ** till I had seen it in its most malignant forms. Some
** of my companions died in that hospital. When I
** returned to the prison, others of our company had
** been taken to the diflferent hospitals, from which few
*' returned. I remained in prison for a time, when,
** from bad air, confinement, and bad diet, I was taken
" sick, and conveyed to the Quaker Meeting Hospital, so
** called from its being a Quaker Meeting-house.
" I soon became insensible, and the time passed
** unconsciously till I began slowly to recover health and
** strength, and was again permitted to exchange these
** scenes of disease and death for the prison. On my
*' return, I found, the number of our companions still
** further reduced by sickness and death. During all
** this time, an influence was exerted to induce the men
" to enlist in the Tory regiments. Although our suflFer-
** ings were intolerable, and the men were urged by
*' those who had been their own townsmen land neigh-
** bors, who had joined the British, yet the instances
" were rare that they could be influenced to enlist.
" So wedded were they to their principles, that they
" chose honorable death rather than to sacrifice them.
" I remained in the prison till the 24th of October, when
** the names of a company of prisoners were taken down,
" and mine among the rest. It Was told us that we
** were going home. We^ drew our week's provision,
'* which, by solicitation, we cheerfully divided among our
** starving associates whom we were to leave in prison.
" But whether it was to torment and aggravate our feel-
518 HISTORY OF THE
** ing8, I know not ; but this I do know, that, instead of
*' going home, we were taken from the prison, and put on
'* board one of the prLson-ships (the Good Intent) lyings
*' in the North River, and reported there with one week's
•' provision. The scene of starvation and suffering tliat
** followed cannot be described ; everything was eaten
** that could appease hunger. From this and other
'' causes, and crowded as we were, with over two hun-
** dred in the hold of one ship, enfeebled as we had
'' become, and now reduced by famine, pestilence began
*'to sweep us down, till, in less than two months, we
** were reduced by death to scarcely one hundred. In
** addition to all this, we were treated with the utmost
** severity and cruelty. In December, when the river
** began to freeze, our ship was taken round into the
'' Wallabout, where lay the Jersey, another prison-ship
'* of terrific memory, whose rotted hulk remained till
" lately to mark the spot where thousands yielded up
** their lives a sacrifice to British cruelty.
'* The dead from these ships were thrown into the
** trenches of our fortifications ; and their bones, after
** the war, were collected and decently buried. It was
** here that Ethan Allen exhausted his fimd of curses
** and bitter invectives against the British, as he passed
** among the prisoners, and viewed the loathsome dens
** of suflfering after his return from his shameful
** imprisonment in England.* Here again I was taken
'* sick and my name taken down to the hospital. The
* day before New Year's, the sick were placed in a boat
* See Ethan Allen's Narratiye, pp. 98-102.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 519
** for the city ; she had lost a piece of plank from her
" bottom ; but it was filled up with ice, and we were taken
** in tow. From the motion, the ice soon loosened, and
'* the boat began to leak ; and before we had gone far,
*' the sailors inquired if we leaked. Our men, from pride,
'* and not to show fear, replied but a mere trifle ; but
'* they soon perceived our increased heft, pulled hard for
** a time, and then lay to until we came up. Our boat
** was half filled with water. When they saw it, they
** cursed us, and pulled for the nearest dock, shouting for
" help. When the boat touched the dock, she struck
** level with the water, and we held on with our
** hands to the dock and a small boat by our side to
** keep from sinking. It was low water, and the sailors
*' reached down from the dock, clenched hold of our
*' hands, and drew us up. I remember that I was drawn
** up with so much violence, that the skin was taken from
** my chest and stomach. One poor fellow that could not
** sit up, we had to haul on the gimnel of the boat
'* to keep his head out of water ; but he got wet and died
** in a few minutes after he was got on shore. We were
** taken to the hospital in Dr. Rogers' Brick Meeting-
" house (afterwards Dr. Spring's) near the foot of the
*' Park. From the yard, I carried one end of a bunk,
'* from which some person had just died, into the church,
** and got into it, exhausted and overcome. The head
** nurse saw my condition. She made me some tea, and
'* pulled the blankets from the sick Irish, regardless of
** their complaints or curses, and piled them on me, till I
** sweat profusely and feU asleep. When I awoke in the
'* morning, they gave me some mulled wine and water.
62Q
HISTORY OF THB.
Wine and some other things were sent in by our gov-
ernment for the sick ; the British furnished nothing. I
then lay perfectly easy and free from pain, and it
appeared to me that I never was so happy in my life,
and yet so weak that I could not get out of my bunk,
had it been to save the Union. The doctor (who was
an American surgeon and a prisoner, had been taken
out of prison to serve in the hospital) told me that
my blood was breaking down and turning into water
from the effects of the small pox. He said I must
have some bitters. I gave hiiA ^hat money I had, and
he prepared some for me ; and when that was gone he
had the kindness to prepare some for me once or twice
at his own expense. I began slowly to gain, and finally
to walk about. While standing one day in March by
the side of the church, in the warm sun, my toes began
to sting and pi^in me excessively. I showed them to
the surgeon when he came in ; he laid them open ; they
had been frozen, and the flesh wasted till only the bone
and the tough skin remained. I had now to remain
here for a long time on account of my feet. And of
all places, that was the last to be coveted ; disease and
death reigned there in all their terrors. I have had
men die by the side of me in the night, and have seen
fifteen dead bodies sewed up in their blankets and laid
in the corner of the yard at one time, the product of
one twenty*four hours. Every morning, at 8 o'clock,
the dead'Caf t came, the bodies were put in, the men
drew their nun, and the cart was driven off to the
trenches of the fortifications that our people had made.
Once I was permitted to go with the guard to the
CITY OF NEW TORE. 621
" place of interment, and never shall I forget the scene
'* that I there beheld ; they tumbled them into the ditch
" just as it happened, threw on a little dirt, and then
** away. I could see a hand, a foot, or part of a head,
/'washed bare by the rains, swollen, blubbering, and
*' falling to decay.
** I was now returned to the prison, and from this
** time forward I enjoyed comfortable health to the close
**of my imprisonment, which took place in the May fol-
** lowing. One day, as I was standing in the yard near
** the high board fence, a man passed in the street close
** to the fence, and without stopping or turning his head,
** said in a low voice, 'General Burgoyne is taken with
" * all his army ; it is a truth, you may depend upon it.'
** Shut out from all information as we had been, the news
** was grateful indeed, and cheered us in our wretched
** prison. Knowing nothing- of what was taking place
"beyond the confines of our miserable abode, we had
** been left to dark forebodings and fears as to the result
*' of our cause, and the probabilities of our government
*' being able to exchange or release us. We knew not
*' whether our cause was progressing, or whether resist-
'* ance was still continued. Our information was
'* obtained only through the exaggerations of the British
** soldiery. But this gave us the sweet consolation that
** our cause was yet triumphant, and the hope of final
'* liberation. Had our informant been discovered, he
" might have had to run the gauntlet, or lose his life for
** his kindness.''
Such were the horrors of the Old Sugar-house in Lib-
erty street. Rhinelander's and the other sugar-houses
522 HISTORY OF THE
in the city were also filled with prisoners, but as the
OH Jersey ranked foremost among the prison-ships, this
seems to have taken the precedence of all the rest.
Columbia College was used as a prison for a short time
only. The City Hall was converted into a guard-house
for the main guard of the city, the dungeons below
being filled with prisoners. During the latter part of
the war, the court-room in the second story was granted
to the refugee clergy for service in lieu of their churches.
Another prison was the Bridewell, in the Commons, a
cheerless, jail-like building of grey stone, two stories in
height, with a basement and pediment in front and rear,
which is still remembered by many of our citizens. This
building had been erected in 1776, just in time to serve
as a dungeon for the patriots of the Revolution. At
this time, it was scarcely finished, the wind(5ws were yet
unglazed, with nothing but iron bars to keep out the cold ;
yet, despite the excessive inclemency of the weather,
more than eight himdred of the unfortunate prisoners of
Fort Washington were thrust within its walls on the day
of the capture and left there for three days without a
mouthful of food. ** We were marched to New York,"
says Oliver WoodruflF, one of the prisoners, who died
not long since at the age of 90, " and went to difiier-
'' ent prisons — eight hundred and sixteen went into
**the New Bridewell, I among the rest; some into
** the Sugar-house ; others into the Dutch Church.
** On Thursday morning, they brought us a little pro-
** vision, which was the first morsel we got to eat or drink
** after eating our breakfast on Saturday morning. We
** never drew as much provision for three days allowance
k
CITY OF NEW YOBK.
523
CITY OP NEW YORK. 525
^' as a man would eat at a common meal. I was there
** three months during that inclement season, and never
** saw any fire, except what was in the lamps of the cily.
'* There was not a pane of glass in the windows, and
'* nothing to keep out the cold except the iron grates."
This statement is confirmed by N. Murray, who says that
the doctor gave poison powders to the prisoners, who
soon died. Every indignity which himian ingenuity could
invent was heaped upon the wretched prisoners in the
furtherance of the policy which hoped thus to crush the
spirit of the army by disabling those that had been taken
prisoners for future service and terrifying the remainder
by the possibility of a similar fate. In the first part of
of their project they succeeded but too well ; on the 6th
May, 1778, when an exchange of some of the prisoners
took place, of the three thousand men who had been cap-
tured at Fort Washington, but eight hundred were report-
ed as still living. But this wanton cruelty only deepened
the indignation of the patriots ; instead of bringing them
humbled and submissive to the feet of Great Britain, it
estranged them more widely from the once loved mother
country, and forever destroyed all hope of reconciliation.
The most notorious dungeon, perhaps, of all, was the
New Jail or Provost, so called from having been the
headquarters of the infamous Cunningham, the provost-
marshal of the Revolution. Through the influence of
General Gage, he had succeeded to this post on the
retirement of William Jones in 1775, and from the fact
that he retained it until the close of the war, we may
judge that his conduct was pleasing to his superiors.
The injuries which he had received the preceding year at
526 HISTORY OP THE
the foot of the Liberty-Pole", had never been forgotten,
and he eagerly availed himself of this opportunity lo
wreak his vengeance on his defenceless prisoners.
Among these were the most distinguished of the American
captives ; Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga ; Majors
Wells, Payne, and Williams ; Captains Randolph, Fla-
haven, Vandyke, Mercer, and Bissell ; John Fell, a
member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, with
many other prominent men and oflScers, who, after
having been released on parole, had been arrested again
upon frivolous pretexts and thrown into a dungeon with
the vilest criminals, where their brutal jailer heaped
every possible indignity upon them, even amusing the
young English officers, who were his frequent guests, at
the conclusion of their drunken orgies, by parading his
helpless prisoners through the courtyard of the jail as
specimens of the rebel army. Not content with seeing
them die a slow death from cold and starvation, he is said
to have poisoned many by mingling a preparation of
arsenic with their food, then continued to draw their
rations as before, giving rise to the sarcasm that he fed
the dead and starved the living ; and to have boasted that
he had thus killed more of the rebels with his own hand
than had been slain by all the king's forces in America.
The cruelty practised towards the inmates of the Provost
and the other prisons of the city rivals all that may be
found in the annals of Christendom, and stamps the gene-
ral who permitted it with far deeper disgrace than the
subordinate who was only the instrument of his will.
Mr. Pintard, one of founders of the New York Historical
Society, at that time ayoungniiiii, the clerk of hisxmcle,
CITY OF NEW YORK
527
Elias Boudinot, who had been appointed Commissioner
of Prisons by the Continental Congress, has left us a
graphic picture of the scenes of which he was himself
an eye witness.
The New Jail, uow the Hu;i oi' Records.
*'The Provost," says he, in a published document,
** was destined for the more notorious rebels, civil, naval,
** and military. An admission to this modern Bastile was
** enough to appall the stoutest heart. On the right hand
**of the main door, was Captain Cunningham's quarters,
** opposite to which was the guard-room. Within the
528 HISTORY OP THE
* first barricade was Sergeant O'Keefe's apartment. At
'the entrance door, two sentinels were always posted,
* day and night ; two more at the first and second bar-
* ricades, which were grated, barred, and chained, also at
* the rear door, and on the platform at the grated door
* at the foot of the second flight of steps, leading to
* the rooms and cells in the second and third stories.
' When a prisoner, escorted by the soldiers, was led into
* the hall, the whole guard was paraded, and he was
* delivered over with all formality to Captain Cun-
* ningham, or his deputy, and questioned as to his
* name*, rank, size, age, etc., all of which were entered
* in a record-book. What with the bristling of arms,
' unbolting of bars and locks, clanking of enormous iron
* chains, and a vestibule as dark as Erebus, the unfortu-
* nate captive might well sink under this infernal sight
* and parade of tyrannical power, as he crossed the
* threshold of that door which probably closed on him
'for life.
"The northeast chamber, turning to the left, on the
* second floor, was appropriated to officers and charac-
' ters of superior rank and distinction, and was christened
'Congress Hall. So closely were they packed, that
'when their bones ached at night from Ijdng on the
' hard oak planks, and they wished to timi, it could
'only be done by word of command, * Right, Lefi,^
' being so wedged and compact as to form almost a soUd
' mass of human bodies. In the day-time, the packs and
' blankets of the prisoners were suspended around the
' walls, every precaution being used to keep the rooms
' ventilated, and the walls and floors clean, to prev^t
CITY OP NBW YORK. 529
"jail-fever, and as the Provost was generally crowded
"with American prisoners or British culprits of every
" description, it is really wonderful that infection never
" broke out in its walls."
The following graphic list of the grievances endured
by the prisoners, which was sent to General Jones by
Mr, Pintard, reveals a terrible tale of sujBfering : " Close
* confined in jail, without distinction of rank or charac-
* ter ; amongst felons (a number of whom are under
' sentence of death), without their friends being suffered
*to speak to them, even through the gates. On the
* scanty allowance of 2 lbs. hard biscuit and 2 lbs. raw
* pork per man per week, without fuel to dress it. Fre-
* quently supplied with water from a pump where all
* kinds of filth is thrown that can render it obnoxious
* and unwholesome (the effects of which are too often
' felt), when good water is as easily obtained. Denied
* the benefit of a hospital ; not allowed to send for medi-
* cine, nor even a doctor permitted to visit them when
* in the greatest distress ; married men and others who
* lay at the point of death, refused to have their wives
* or relations admitted to see them, who, for attempting
* it, were often beat from prison. Commissioned officers
* and other persons of character, without a cause, thrown
'^into a loathsome dimgeon, insulted in a gross manner,
* and vilely abused by a provost marshal, who is allowed
* to be one of the basest characters in the British army,
* and whose power is so imlimited that he has caned an
* officer on a trivial occasion, and frequently beats the
* sick privates when unable to stand, many of whom are
'daily obUged to enlist in the new corps to prevent
84
630 HISTORY OP THE
•* perishing for the necessaries of life. Neither pen, ink
**nor paper allowed (to prevent their treatment being
"made public), the consequence of which, indeed, the
** prisoners themselves dread, knowing the malignant
** disposition of their keeper."
These statements are amply confirmed by the testi-
mony of eye-witnesses as well as of the suflFerers Uiem-
selves ; and it is not strange that the name of Cunning-
ham became a by-word of horror in the annals of the
times. It was afterwards reported and currently
believed that he was executed at Newgate for forgery ;
and a dying speech and confession, purporting to be his,
was published in 1791 in a Philadelphia paper and
copied thence into the Boston journals of the day ; but
the Newgate Calendar, examined by Mr. Bancroft, con-
tains no record of any such name. The Americans were
willing to believe all things possible from a man who
had shown himself capable of such barbarity, and rumors
of this sort found ready credence. But the odium of this
cruelty must forever rest on Howe, who was cognizant
of all its details, and to whom the provost marshal was
but a tool — a cat's paw, as he is called by the indignant
Ethan Allen — to execute his vengeance upon the detested
rebels. The sufferings of the captives excited universal
sympathy, and considerable aid was afforded them by
the citizens ; yet this was not encouraged by the British
commandant, and Mrs. Deborah Franklin was even
banished from the city in 1780 for her imbounded
liberality to the American prisoners. Remonstrances
would have been in vain. The American officers who
were free on parole shrunk from visiting the prisons to
i
CITY OP NEW YORK. 531
witness the suflferings which they could not relieve, and
dared not appeal to Howe for aid, lest this audacity
should doom them to a similar fate. In 1777, after the
successes of Washington in New Jersey, a portion of the
prisoners were exchanged ; but, exhausted by suflfering,
many fell dead in the streets ere they reached the vessels
destined for their embarkation, and few long survived
their return to their homes. The churches and sugar-
houses were gradually cleared of their inmates during
the course of the war, but the Provost and the
old City Hall were used as prisons till Evacuation Day.
**I was in New York, Nov. 26th," says Gen. Johnson,
**and at the Provost about ten o'clock a.m. A few
** British criminals were yet in custody, and O'Keefe
"threw his ponderous bunch of keys on the floor and
** retired, when an American guard relieved the British
*' guard, which joined a detachment of British troops,
*' then on parade in Broadway, and marched down to the
** Battery, where they embarked for England,"
Not less deplorable was the condition of the sailor-
captives on board the loathsome prison-ships.* The first
of these vessels were the freight-ships which brought
the British troops to Staten Island in 1776 ; in these, as
* For ftirther details respecting the prisons as well as the prison-ships of New
Tork, the reader is referred to *' Narrative of CoL Ethan Allen's Oaptivitj," Burling^
ton, 1838; ** Onderdonk*s Incidents of the British Prisons and Prison-Ships at
" New York," New York, 1849 ; " Life of Jesse Talbot ;" " Life of Ebenezer Fox, of
"Roxbury," Boston, 1888; "Recollections of the Jersey Prison-Ship," by Oapt
Thomas Bring, Providence, 1829; "The Old Jersey Captive," by Thomas
Andros, Boston, 1888; "The Interment of the Remains of 11,500 American
" Prisoners at the Wallebocht," New York, 1808 ; Freneau's ** Poem on the Prison-
" Ship," and G<dnee\ Rivington*s, and other papers of the day.
532 HISTORY OF THE
they lay anchored at Gravesend Bay, the prisoners taken
at the battle of Long Island were confined for a few
days until the conquest of the city, when they were
transferred thither and the vessels reserved for the cap-
tured seamen. The Good Hope and Scorpion were then
anchored in the North River off the Battery, whence the
bodies of the prisoners who died were conveyed to
Trinity Churchyard for burial. Some time after, they
were taken round to the East River and moored in the
Wallabout Bay, where a dozen old hulks, among which
were the Good Hope, Whitby, Falmouth, Prince of Wales,
Scorpion, Strombolo, Hunter, Kitty, Providence, Bristol,
Jersey, etc., lay anchored in succession, usually two or
three at a time, to serve as floating prisons for the British
commanders. Of all these, the Jersey gained the greatest
notoriety; christened **the hell afloat'' by her despair-
ing inmates, her name struck terror to the hearts of
every American sailor. A 64-gun ship which had been
condemned in 1776 as unfit for service, she had been
stripped of her spars and rigging and anchored at
Tplmie's Wharf to serve as a storeship. In 1780, when
the prisoners on board the Good Hope burnt the vessel
in the desperate hope of regaining their liberty, the
chief incendiaries were removed to the Provost, and the
remainder transferred to the Jersey, which was thence-
forth used as a prison-ship until the close of the war,
when her inmates were liberated, and she was henceforth
shunned by all as a nest of pestilence. The worms soon
after destroyed her bottom, and she simk, bearing with
her on her planks the names of thousands of American
prisoners. For more than twenty years, her ribs lay
CITY OP NEW YORK. 533
exposed at low water ; she now lies buried beneath the
United States Navy Yard.
Though the Jersey has gained a bad eminence as a
prison-ship, which would naturally lead many to suppose
that her prisoners alone were subjected to suflfering and
privation, the testimony of those confined in the other
hulks proves clearly that their treatment was every-
where the same. The chief diflference lay in the fact
that the Jersey was larger than the others, and con-
tinued in the service for a longer space of time. David
Sproat, the British Commissary, denied, indeed, that any
suflfering existed, and, painting the situation of the
captives in glowing colors, brought documents signed by
them to testify to the truth of his assertions ; but as
these were forced from them almost at the point of the
bayonet, and universally retracted as soon as they were
free, the papers in question are not worth much in
evidence.
The life on board the Jersey prison-ship may be
regarded as a fair sample of the life on all the rest.
The crew consisted of a captain, two mates, a steward,
cook and a dozen sailors, with a guard of twelve marines
and about thirty soldiers. When a prisoner was brought
on board, his name and rank were registered, after
which he was searched for weapons and money. His
clothes and bedding he was permitted to retain ; how-
ever scanty these might be, he was supplied with no
more while on board the prison-ship. He was then
ordered down into the hold, where from a thousand to
twelve hundred men were congregated, covered with
rags and filth, and ghastly from breathing the pesti-
534 HISTORY OF THB
lential air ; many of them sick with the typhus, fever,
dysentery and smallpox, from which the vessel was
never free. Here he joined a mess of six men, who,
every morning, at the ringing of the steward's hell,
received their daily allowance of biscuit, beef or pork
and peas, to which butter, suet, oatmeal and flour were
occasionally added. The biscuit was moldy and lite-
rally crawling with worms, the butter and suet rancid
and unsavory to the highest degree, the peas damaged,
the meal and flour often sour, and the meat tainted, and
boiled in the impure water from about the ship in a large
copper kettle, which, soon becoming corroded and
crusted with verdigris, mingled a slow poison with all
its contents. Yet for these damaged provisions, the
highest prices were charged to the king by the royal
commissioners, who, by curtaiUng the rations and substi-
tuting damaged provisions for those purchased by the
government, amassed fortunes at the expense of thou-
sands of lives ; and, when accused, forced their prisoners
by threats of still greater severity, to attest to the kind
treatment which they received at their hands.
The prisoners were confined in the two main decks
below ; the lower dungeon being filled with foreigners,
who were treated with even more inhumanity than the
Americans. Every morning the prisoners were aroused
with the cry, *' Rebels^ turn out your dead P^ The
order was obeyed, and the bodies of those who had died
during the night were brought up upon deck and placed
upon the gratings. If the deceased had owned a
blanket, any prisoner was at liberty to sew it around the
corpse, after which it was lowered into a boat and sent
GITT 09 NEW TORE. 635
on shore for interments Here, a hole was dug in the
sands, and the bodies hastily covered, often to be disin*
terred at the washing of the next tide.
The prisoners were suffered to remain on deck till
sunset, when they were saluted with the insulting cry of
^^ Down^ rebels, downP^ This order obeyed, the main
hatchway was closed, leaving a small trap-door, large
enough for one man to ascend at a time, over which
a sentinel was placed, with orders to permit but one
man to come up at a time during the night. These
sentinels were often guilty of the most wanton cruelty.
William Burke, a prisoner for fourteen months in the
Jersey, says that one night while the prisoners were
huddled about the grate at the hatchway to obtain fresh
air, awaiting their turn to go on deck, the sentinel
thrust his bayonet among them, killing twenty-five of
their number ; and that this outrage was frequently
repeated. But these acts of cruelty, instead of crushing
the spirit of the rebels, as their enemies had fondly
hoped, only incited them to new acts of daring ; those
already free, fought with the more desperation, choosing
rather to face death than the dreaded prison-ship ; while
the prisoners, constantly seeking to escape, cherished
life that they might one day take vengeance for their
sufferings. How terrible sometimes was the retribution,
may be gleaned from the following extract from the
Life of Silas Talbot :
** Two young men, brothers, belonging to a rifle
" corps," says the author of the narrative, ** were made
** prisoners, and sent on board the Jersey. The elder
** took the fever, and in a few days became delirious.
536 HISTORY OF THB
'* One night (his end was fast approadiing) he became
'' calm and sensible, and, lamenting his hard fate and
** the absence of his mother, begged for a little water.
" His brother, with tears, entreated the guard to give
** him some, but in vain. The sick youth was soon in
" his last struggles, when hb brother ofiFered the guard
** a guinea for an inch of candle, only that he might see
" him die. Even this was refused. ' Now,' said he,
" drying up his tears, * if it please God that I ever
** regain my liberty, I'll be a most bitter enemy.' He
** regained his liberty, rejoined the army, and when the
'' war ended, he had eight large and 127 small notches
** on his rifle-stock !"
To prove that the Jersey prison-ship was not an
exceptional one, we will quote the testimony of pri-
soners on board the others. Freneau has given a
graphic poetical account of his treatment on board the
Scorpion and the hospital-ship.* Another says : ** The
* We subjoin as a ouriosHy the following extract from IVeneaa's poem on the
^ Prison Ship **— a work which is now exceedingly rare :
"> Two hoiks on Hndson^s stormy bosom lie.
Two farther south aifiront the pitying eye ;
There the black Scorpion at her moorings rides,
There, Strombdo swings, yielding to the tides»
Here bniky Jersey fills a larger space,
And Hunter, to all hospitals <Usgraoe.
Thou, Scorpion, fatal to thy crowded throng,
Dire theme of horror and Plutonian song,
Bequir'st my hiy — thy suhry decks I know.
And aU the torments that exist below.
The briny ware that Hudson's bosom fills,
Drained through her bottom in a thousand riOs ;
Botten and old, replete with S]|^ and groans.
CITY OF NEW YORE. 537
** greatest inhumanity was experienced in a ship, of
'* which one Nelson, a Scotchman, had the superintend-
'*ence (the Good Hope, afterwards burned by the pri-
"soners, described by Sproat as the best prison-ship in
" the worid). Upwards of three hundred were confined
Scarce on the waters she sustains her bones.
Here, doomed to toil, or founder in the tide,
At the moist pmnps incessantly we plj'd ;
Here, doomed to starre, like famish'd dogs we tore
The scant allowance that our t jrants bore.
When to the ocean diree the western smi,
And the scorched Tories fire their evening gun,
' Dcywfi, rebels^ down P the angry Scotchmen cry,
' Damned dog9y dueend^ cr by our broadtwords die t
Hail dark abode I what can with thee compare ?
Heat, sickness, famine, death and stagnant air^
Swift from the guarded decks we rush'd along.
And Tainly sought repose— so xast our throng.
Three hundred wretches here, deny'd all light,
In crowded manrions pass th* infernal night.
Some for a bed their tattered restments Join,
And some on chests, and some on floors redine ;
Shut from the bless{pg8 of the evening air,
Pensive we lay with mingled corpses there ;
Meagre and wan, and soorchM with heat below.
We lookM like ghosts, ere death had made us so.
How could we else, where heat and hunger join'd.
Thus to debase the body and the mind,
Where cruel thirst the parching throat invades.
Dries up the man« and fits him for the shades ?
No water ladled from the bubbling spring,
To these dire ships the woMnadt monsters bring ;
By planks and ponderous beams completely wall'd,
In vain for water, and in vain, I call*d—
No drop was granted to the midnight prayer,
To Dives in these regions of despair I
* The loathsome cask a deadly dose contains,
Its poison circling through the languid veins.
538 HISTORY OF THB
** at a time on boards There was but one small fire-
** place to cook the food of such a number, and the
** allowance was moreover frequently delayed. In the
** short days of November and December, the steward
'* did not begin to serve out the rations till 11 A.M., so
0 generoui BtUomI generovs, aa you say,
To mj paroh*d toagoe one oooliiig drop oonrey ;
Earth knows no torment like a thirsty throaty
Nor hell a monster like your DaM Sproatr
Freneaa was afterwards transferred to the hospital^hip Hunter, where he thus
describes his treatment :
" From Brookiifn groree a Htuian doctor came,
Not great his skill, nor greater much his fiune ;
Fair Science nerer caUM the wretch her own.
And Art diidafned the stnpid man to own;
Tet still be doomM his genius to the rack.
And, as you may sappose, was owned a quaek.
He, on his charge, the healing work begun
With antimonial mixtures by the ton.
Tin minuUi was the tisM he deigned to stay—
The time of grace allotted once a day —
He drenched us well with bitter draughts, *tis true,
Nostrunu from hM and eori$x from Peru—
Some with his pills he sent to Pluto*s reign.
And some he blistered with the flies of Spain ;
His cream of Tartar walked in deadly round,
1W the lean patient at the poison frown'd.
And swore that hemlock, death, or what you will,
Were nonsense to the drugs that stuffed his bill.
On those revising, he bestowed a kick.
Or menaced Tengeance with his walklng-etick;
Here, uncontroU'd he exercised his trade,
And grew experienced by the deaths he made ;
By frequent blows we from his cane endur'd
He killed at least as many as he cur'd.
On our lost comrades built his future fame,
And scattered fkte where V his footsteps came.**
CITY OP NEW YORK. 689
** that the whole could not be served till 3. At sunset
** the fire was ordered to be quenched, so that some
** had not their food dressed at all ; many were obliged
** to eat it half raw. No flour, oatmeal, and things of
**like nature, suited to the condition of infirm people,
** were allowed to the many sick — nothing but ship-
'* bread, beef and pork," *'I am now a prisoner," says
another, **on board the ship Falmouth in N. T., a place
'* the most dreadful ; we are so confined that we have
** not room even to lie down all at once to sleep."
But we need not multiply corroborative statements
to prove the horrors of the loathsome prison-ships.
Negotiations were opened for the exchange of prison-
ers, and a long correspondence between Sproat and
Abraham Skinner, the American commissary, ensued,
which amounted to little more than mutual recrimina-
tion. The captives being mostly privateersmen, inde-
pendent of the continental service. Congress was
unwilling to release healthy British prisoners in ex-
change, and thus give to liie enemy a great and per-
manent strength, without receiving an equivalent. By
the agreement between the armies, oflBcers were to be
exchanged for officers, soldiers for soldiers, and seamen
for seamen. The Americans, however, had few naval
prisoners ; those captured by the privateers had been
for the most part enlisted into the service, or suffered to
go at large for the want of a suitable place wherein to
secure them. Washington, who had no control over the
marine department, remonstrated earnestly with Sir
Henry Clinton and Admiral Digby against this inhuman
treatment, and threatened to retaliate on the British
540 HISTORY OF THE
soldiers, but his protests were of little avail. The rebels
were urged by threats and promises to enter into
the British service. A few complied, trusting to the
chances for a speedy desertion, while many more perished
in the midst of darkness and privation, preferring death
to a seeming infidelity to their country. It is estimated,
we doubt if on sufficient authority, that eleven thousand
were buried from the Jersey alone. Despite the
vigilance of the guard, escapes were frequent, and a
whole mess would sometimes suddenly be found miss-
ing without having given the slightest indication of
their departure. After the arrival of Sir Guy Carlton,
in the closing days of the war, a few of the pri-
soners were released on parole, but the condition of the
majority remained substantially the same until the final
cessation of hostilities. In marked contrast with this,
the British prisoners were invariably treated with kind-
ness and humanity, and though retaliation was some-
times threatened, the threat was never in a single
instance carried into execution. But the treatment of
American prisoners at New York, connived at if not
sanctioned by the British commandants, must forever
remain a stain upon the boasted civilization of England.
On the 21st of September, 1776, while Howe's troops
were still stretched in a* cordon across the island, in
readiness to fall upon the army of Washington, encamped
upon the heights on the opposite side of Harlem Plains,
a fire occurred, which reduced the greater portion of
the diy to ashes. The conflagration broke out in a
small wooden grog-shop near Whitehall Slip, whence it
swept rapidly up Broad and Beaver streets to Broad-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 541
way, and thence consumed all the western part of the
town. The progress of the flames was at length stayed
by the college grounds at Barclay street; but ere this
was done, five hundred houses fell in ruins to the ground.
Trinity Church and the neighboring Lutheran chapel, on
the site of the future Grace Church, were destroyed, while
St. Paul's Church was only saved by the unremitting
exertions of the citizens, who moimted on the roof and
extinguished the flakes of fire as they fell. No engines
were at that time to be had in the city, and the people
could only stand idly by and witness the work of destruc-
tion. Intense excitement prevailed among the British,
who accused the Sons of Liberty of being the incendi-
aries, and even seized a number of the patriots and thrust
them into the flames by way of revenge for the supposed
outrage. Several of the citizens were also arrested and
imprisoned on the charge of being accessories to the
deed, but the accusations were not sustained, and they
were afterward acquitted of the charge. No evidence
exists, indeed, to prove that the origin of this fire was
anything else than purely accidental, or that the sus-
picions of the Britiflh officers had any foimdation.
Much of the burned district had been covered with
small wooden houses, tenanted by the lowest classes of
society. Driven from their wretched homes by the fear-
ful conflagration, and not knowing where else to find
shelter, the miserable inmates tacked sheets of canvas to
the remnants of charred walls and standing chimneys,
thus forming a city of tents, in which they bivouacked,
despite the inclemency of the weather, and the spot
henceforth became known as Canvastown — a sort of
542 HIStOET OF THE
progenitor of the present Five Points, the haunt of
crime and misery.
A few days after the fire, Cadwalladcr Golden, who
had for so many years played a prominent part in the
aCFairs of the city, died at the advanced age of eighty-
nine. He was a man of preeminent talent and of fine
scientific attainments ; the literature of the province had
been greatly enriched by his valuable contributions, and,
previously to the rbh which he was insnared to play
in the drama of the Revolution, he had been loved and
honored by the people. This false step was the only
stain on his career ; he succumbed to the temptation of
private interests, and sacrificed the welfare of his coun-
trymen to the arbitrary maintenance of the royal pre-
rogative. Nor was he alone in this apostasy; many other
scions of ancient and distinguished families espoused the
cause of the king in the struggle, and openly ranged
themselves among the Tories. Foremost among these
was Oliver De Lancey, brother of the former lieutenant-
governor of the province, and one of the most zealous
adherents of the royalist party. Inferior in talent to
his brother, haughty and imperious in manners, yet pos-
sessing an almost diabolical knowledge of human nature,
with an adroitness in using it which was rarely ex-
ceeded, he became a formidable enemy to the patriotic
cause, and an object of detestation to the Liberty Boys ;
a party of whom, headed by the daring and impetuous
Martling, came down from the American lines on the
night of the 25th of November, 1777, and burned his
house at Bloomingdale, by way of revenge for his infi-
delity to his country. At the dose of the Revolution,
CITY OP NEW YORK. 643
his estates, as well as those of his nephew, James De
Lancey, were confiscated hy the government ; after
which, he went to England, where he died, leaving
numerous descendants.
Many of the Tories who had heen expelled from the
surroimding country by the vigorous measures of the
Committee of Safety, now removed to New York and
took up their residence there. Rivington, returned to
the city and recommenced the publication of his paper,
now the Royal Gazette; while Holt was driven with his
journal from place to place along the North River. Hugh
Gaine still continued to pubUsh his Gazette, more than
ever devoted to the interests of the royalist party.
During the winter. General, Howe made New York
his headquarters, from which he dispatched detach-
ments by land and sea to harass the American forces.
It was not long before General Lee was seized as he lay
carelessly guarded at a considerable distance from the
army, and brought a prisoner to the city, where he was
lodged in one of the dungeons of the City Hall in Wall
street. Lee was a born Englishman, and, on this ground
was claimed by Howe as a deserter from the British
army. Washington made the most urgent efforts to
obtain his release, and, as he held no prisoner of equal
rank in his hands, offered in exchange for him six Hes-
sian field-oflBcers ; but these terms were refused by
Howe, who threatened to send him to England for trial.
'* As you treat Lee, so shall the Hessians be treated,"
was the reply; and fearing the consequences, the British
general dared not carry his threat into immediate execu-
tion, but kept him closely guarded, awaiting the moment
544^ HISTORY OP THE
when the destruction of the American army, which
seemed to him inevitable, should enable him to punish
the culprit with impunity. He waited in vain ; the
surrender of Burgoyne, in the following autumn,
proved the fallacy of these hopes, and he finally con-
sented to the offered terms. A negotiation was also
opened for the exchange of the rest of the American
prisoners, but this failed of any result. Worn and
debilitated by unwholesome food and inhuman treatment,
the captives were wholly unfit for service, and Washington
was unwilling to nullify his recent brilHant victories in the
Jerseys by restoring to the British ranks a large corps
of able and efficient Hessians in equal exchange for
soldiers rendered useless beyond all hope of cure by the
brutalities which they had endured in the British prisons.
Humanity would have dictated the measure ; policy for-
bade it. Washington vainly endeavored to effect their
release on more equitable terms, and held a long corre-
spondence with Howe upon the subject ; but the latter
remained immovable, and the prisoners were condemned
to linger many more weary months amid the horrors of
captivity.
In April, 1777, the Convention assembled at Kingston
framed the first written constitution of the State of New
York. By this constitution, the office of governor was
made elective by the people, and the legislative power
was vested in two distinct bodies, deriving their author-
ity from the same source. George Clinton, already dis-
tinguished for his patriotism in the annals of the province,
was chosen the first governor — an office which he con-
tinued to hold for eighteen years. John Jay was
CITY OF NEW TOBK.
545
Portrait of John Jty, from the Original bj Stnart, in the Poaieuion of the Family.
35
CITY OF NEW YORK. 547
appointed Chief-Justice, and Robert R. Livingston,
Chancellor of the new State, over which, until the meet-
ing of the first legislatiure, the Committee of Safety
still continued to exercise their authority. Philip Liv-
ingston, James Duane, Francis Lewis, William Duer,
and Gouverneur Morris were at the same time appointed
delegates to the Continental Congress.
Other States soon followed the example, and the new
power that was springing up to a prominent position
among the nations of the earth, grew stronger and
more consolidated, day by day. A national flag was
adopted, and the thirteen stars and stripes, typical of the
thirteen original pioneers of the future constellation,
waved for the first time over the American fortresses,
carrying with it the assumption of a claim to general
recognition. Commissioners were also dispatched to
the various European courts, to ask their sympathy and
aid ; an appeal which was warmly responded to in
Prance. Actuated partly, it may be, by enmity to an
ancient foe, and partly by real sympathy for the strug-
gling patriots, called forth by the eloquence of Pranklin,
Deane and Arthur Lee, the American Commissioners,
the Prench government granted them money to fit out
armed vessels for the relief of their countrymen, while
many young noblemen, inspired with enthusiasm for the
cause of liberty, proffered their services as volunteers in
the projected expedition. Among these were Lafay-
ette, Steuben, Pulaski, Kosciusko, De Kalb, and many
more, whose names still live in the hearts of a grateful
nation. These, by their knowledge of military science,
afforded invaluable service to the undisciplined army,
548 HISTORY OF THE
gathered from the workshop and the plough, totally igno-
rant of the art of war, and only knowing how to die
without shrinking in the defence of their liberty.
Despite this welcome aid, and despite the cheering
influence of the brilliant capture of Burgoyne at Sara-
toga, the season that followed was a terrible era of
suflfering. The hardships of the winter passed at Valley
Forge, the half-starved army, encamped on the frozen
ground, tentless, fireless, destitute of money and cloth-
ing, and marking their path on the snow by their bleeding
feet, are too well known to require description at our
hands. Darkness closed around the unhappy army, and
nowhere were the clouds so dense as about the head of
its heroic leader. This was the dark day of the life of
Washington. The credit of Congress was exhausted
and its treasury empty ;' the Continental bills, once so
easy a resource, had so far depreciated in value as to be
almost worthless, while the British at New York added
largely to this depreciation by putting in circulation
immense quantities of spurious money of the same sort ;
yet this debased currency was all that remained to the
commander-in-chief wherewith to pay his troops and
purchase food to support their existence. Nor was this
all, his ambitious and intriguing subordinates were
secretly feagued against him, plotting to throw him
down, that they might rise in his stead. A fortuitous
circumstance alone hindered their success ; the plRt
was skillfully laid, and the weight of a feather at this
moment would have turned the balance, and precipi-
tated Washington, now enshrined as an idol in the hearts
of his adoring countrymen, into obscurity and oblivion.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 549
How diflFerent might not have been the destiny of the
future republic, had the intrigues of his enemies attained
this culmination ! They barely missed the achievement
of their designs, and at this critical juncture it was
New York that turned the scale, and preserved the
credit and' the future of George Washington.
Flushed by the recent victory at Saratoga, Gates
aspired to the chief command ; and in this he was
seconded by Mifflin, Conway, and many of the mal-
contents. In Congress, Richard Henry Lee and Samuel
Adams led the factious party. Washington was loudly
accused of incompetency ; the losses of New York, New-
port and Philadelphia, together with his recent defeats
at Brandywine and Germantown, were urged against
him, and his opponents left no means untried to enlist
the leading men of the country in a coalition which
should deprive him of his position as commander of the
army. Lafayette was appealed to, but he indignantly
repelled the overtures. Patrick Henry and Laurens
were also addressed in anonymous letters ; they for-
warded the missives to Washington himself by way of
reply. Yet many did not remain thus firm ; the con-
fidence in the commander-in-chief became gradually
weakened; the mine was prepared and on the point of
explosion. In respect to the denoument of the dark
intrigue, we quote the words of Dunlap, the contempo-
rary historian of the times : *' The Congress at this
** time sat at Little York, the enemy being in Phila-
** delphia. The confederacy of sovereign States had,
"before 1777, in many instances been found wanting,
** In July, 1778, the confederacy was signed ; but on
650 HISTORY OF THB
' October 14th, 1777, Congress resolved that no State
' should be represented by more than seven members or
less than two. New York had but two members pre-
sent (Francis Lewis and William Duer), barely suf-
ficient to give her a vote ; one of those was lying sick ;
this was a situation which rendered her a nullity, and
a day was appointed by the cabal to nominate a com-
mittee to arrest Washington at the Valley Forge,
they having a majority, owing to the absence of New
York.
** Francis Lewis, the only member from New York
capable of taking his place, sent for the absentee.
Col. William Duer sent for his physician, Dr. Jones,
and demanded whether he could be removed to the
courthouse (or place of meeting). *Yes, but at the
risk of your life.' ' Do you mean that I should expire
before reaching the place ?' * No ; but I would not
answer for your life twenty-four hours after.' * Very
well, sir ; you have done your duty ; prepare a litter
for me ; if you refuse, some one else shall, but I pre-
fer your care in the case.' The litter was prepared,
and the sick man, ready to sacrifice his life for his
country, when the faction, baffled by the arrival of
Gouverneur Morris, and by the certainty of New York
being against them, gave up the attempt, and the
hazardous experiment on the part of Col. Duer was
rendered unnecessary."
Washington subsequently received information through
Lord Stirling of a correspondence between Gates and
Conway, which left him no longer in doubt as to the
authors of the plot, though Gates, when taxed with it,
CITY OP NEW YORK. 551
at first denied it, and afterwards apologized in humble
terms. The intrigue was finally foiled, yet it would
have been carried by a coup de main, had it not been
thwarted by the influence of the New York delegation.
In the meantime, the English ministry, under Lord
North, had made a last attempt to regain their authority
over the colonies by renouncing the right of parlia-
mentary taxation, and appointing commissioners to
negotiate for the return of the colonies to their
allegiance. These overtures were hailed with delight
by the Tories and moderate men, who urged their
acceptance ; but the Whigs refused to treat for anything
short of an independence, and their determination was
strengthened by the action of the French government,
which, hitherto abstaining from a distinct alliance, now
entered into a treaty of friendship and commerce, with
pledges of a mutual defensive alliance in case that war
should be declared against France by Great Britain.
This treaty was followed by the anticipated result, and
the British ambassador was recalled from Paris. Seeing
the fatal consequences that must ensue, the opposition
party in the Parliament, headed by Lord Rockingham,
urged the ministry to abandon the struggle, and to
acknowledge the independence of America ; but this
proposal was indignantly scouted as a treason, and Pitt,
the former idol of America, in whose honor the colonista
had kindled bonfires, and erected etatues, rose in his
seat and spoke against it with so much vehemence that,
exhausted by the efibrt, he sank fainting to the floor,
and was carried out of Parliament for the last time,
expending his dying breath in a vain effort to retain the
552 HISTORY OP THE
supremacy of Great Britain over the colonies of America.
His words prevailed, the measure was defeated, and the
war was carried on with renewed vigor. Sir William
Howe was recalled by his own request, and his place*
was filled by Sir Henry Clinton.
Soon after this change, the battle of Monmouth was
fought, resulting in the defeat of the British army,
Clinton evacuated Philadelphia, and marched with his
forces to New York, where all the army had been
ordered to concentrate in order to thwart the plans of
the French fleet under Count d'Estaing, which was
approaching to blockade the British ships in the Dela-
ware. A few days after he reached the city, D'Estaing
arrived, and anchored his vessels oflf the harbor of New
York, with the design of attacking the city, while Wash-
ington proceeded to White Plains with his' army, intend-
ing to make a simultaneous attack by land upon the town.
But the French ships were heavy, the pilots refused
to take them over the bar, and the projected assault
was finally abandoned. D'Estaing set sail for Newport,
then held by a moderate force under General Pigot,
while Admiral Howe, on his part, hastened to the relief
of his ofl&cer. On the 15th of August, before the attack
could take place, a violent storm shattered the vessels
and drove them oflf the coast. D'Estaing abandoned the
blockade and set sail for Boston for repairs, while the
British fleet returned again to New York, together with
Clinton, who had also marched with a land force to the
relief of Newport.
On the 9th of August, 1778, the second great fire
broke out in the city of New York. The conflagration
CITY OP NEW YORK. 553
commenced in Dock, now Pearl, in the vicinity of Broad
street, and raged with violence for several hours, con-
suming three hundred houses on the eastern side of the
^ty. The fire companies had been disbanded during
the revolutionary struggle, and the military charged
themselves with extinguishing the fire ; but, inexperi-
enced in the work, they accomplished but little. Warned
by this example, orders were subsequently issued by the
commander-in-chief that the soldiers should help, but
not order in future conflagrations.
Scarcely had the flames been quenched when a new
calamity occurred. The Morning Star powder-ship,
which was anchored in the East River, was struck by
lightning during a violent thunder-storm ; and so terrific
was the explosion that the houses along the shore were
unroofed by the shock, the windows shattered, and the
furniture demolished. The crew had fortunately gone
on shore, leaving the vessel in the care of a boy, who
perished with his charge.
At this time, General Robertson was the commandant
of the city and the so-called royal governor of the pro-
vince. This office was afterward filled by 0ol^kel
Birch, who resided in the Verplanck Mansion in Wall
street, on the site of the future United States Bank.
Baron Knyphausen still remained in the city, and acted
as deputy commander-in-chief in the absence of Sir
Henry Clinton. Andrew Eliot was lieutenant-governor
and superintendent of the police, and David Mathews
retained the ofl&ce of mayor, to which he had been
appointed on the resignation of Whitehead Hicks in the
early part of the year 1776.
554 HISTOBT OP THB
The summer and autumn of 1778 were marked by the
barbarous massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Valley —
acts of cruelty which stirred up the indignation of the
patriots and urged them on to an almost superhuman*
struggle for vengeance. Retaliatory expeditions were
dispatched against the settlements of the Iroquois, who
had leagued themselves with the British, and many of
their villages were destroyed. But the seat of the war
was now about to be transferred to the South. During
the summer, Clinton had been busily employed in forti-
fying New York, then supposed to be destined for the
next point of attack by the combined forces of the
French and the Americans. Early in November, this
design was abandoned, and Count d'Estaing set sail for
the West Indies with a view to attacking the British
colonies in that quarter. On the same day, the English
Admiral Hotham set sail from Sandy Hook in pursuit,
and in the ensuing month, he was followed by Admiral
Byron, who Tiad superseded Howe in the command of
the British fleet. A few days after, Clinton dispatched
Gen^l Campbell with a force of three thousand five
huttdr^ men, against Savannah, then defended by the
American general, Robert Howe. The expedition proved
successful, and the British troops were soon in possession
of the greater part of Georgia. At the North, the cam-
paign was carried on with vigor. Ex-Governor Tryon
marched with a strong force into Connecticut, plunder-
ing and burning the settlements, and leaving ruin every-
where in his path ; while Clinton himself headed
foraging expeditions from the city, laying waste the
surrounding country, and capturing Stony Point and its
CITY OF NEW YORK. 556
neighbor, Verplanck's Point, on the Hudson River. Yet
victory was not wholly on the side of the British ; the
brilliant recapture of Stony Point by General Wayne oh
Ihe 15th of July, 1779, inspired the Americans with
fresh courage, and the naval victory of John Paul Jones
closed the campaign with signal success to the patriot
forces. Late in December of the same year, Sir Henry
Clinton embarked in person for Savannah with seven
thousand men, leaving New York in charge of General
Knyphausen.
The winter of 1789-90 was one of intense severity.
Anticipating the scarcity of fuel, the commander-in-chiet
had ordered the wood on Staten and Long Islands to be cut
by the .proprietors and brought into market under penalty
of forcible seizure, yet this provision failed to secure the
needed supply, and many of the citizens were even com-
pelled to burn their furniture for fuel as a last resort.*
* The Tenerable Isaac Bell, sen., a resident of this city, now in the ninety-second
year of his age, yet hale and hearty, and in full possession of liid faculticSf who has
seen the ReTOlution with his own eyes, was present when the iron balls were brolccn
by the people from the railing about the Bowling Orcen to serve as leaden missives
to the crew of the Asia on the occasion of the bombardment of the city, and when the
statue of George m. was dragged from its pedestal and drawn through the streets
of the city; who has angled for blackfish in the waters about the Old Jersey, and
skated with Prince William Henry, the future William FV., then an awkward sailor
boy on his first cruise, on the Lispenard Meadows — the Collect being regarded as
too dangerous a place for the scion of royalty — has furnished us with many interest-
ing reminiscences of this winter, which, be says, exceeded anything in severity that
had ever been dreamed of by that classic authority, the oldest inhabitant. Wood
was not to be had at any price, and many families would split up their chairs and
table? to cook their breakfast, then go to bed for the rest of the day in order to
keep warm. The father of Mr. Bell, a well-known ship-builder of the city, cut up a
cable worth six hundred dollars for backlogs, and a spar of the same value for fire-
wood. The rivers about the city were transformed into a solid bridge of Ice for
f
556 HISTORY OF THB
Firewood was scarce and hardly to be bought at any
price ; provisions were dear, and the general suffering
was increased still more by the depreciation of the Con-
tinental currency, which, taken at par, remained a drug
in the hands of its possessors. Excessive suffering was
experienced among the poor, as well as in the American
army, still encamped in the Jerseys, and enduring a
repetition of the horrors of Valley Forge. The waters
about New York were transformed into a solid block
of ice, and men and horses passed over with impunity
to the Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut shores,
^mpted by the opportunity afforded him by the icy
bridge, Lord Stirling projected a secret expedition to
Staten Island from the Jersey shores, hoping to surprise
the detachments which were stationed there ; but the
vigilant Tories of the neighborhood gave the ^arm.
A convoy of eighty sleighs, filled with provisions and
stores, with the same number of cannon, was sent at
once, under an escort of a hundred soldiers, from New
York to the rehef of the island ; and Stirling was forced
on his arrival to retreat with a trifling loss.
The campaign of 1780 opened disastrously for the
patriots. After making himself master of South Caro-
lina by a series of brilliant successes, Clinton returned
in June to New York, leaving Cornwallis with a strong
detachment to guard the conquered province. The
defeat of Gates and Sumter soon followed, and the
British commander remained in triumphant possession
forty days ; and Mr. Bell Bays that he saw with his own eyes the eighty oannon
abore alluded to, dragged across to Staten Island from the foot of Rector street to
repel the expected attack of Lord Stirling.
CITY OF NEW TORK. 557
of the whole of the southern region, harassed, it is true,
by an annoying guerrilla warfare on the part of Sumter
and Marion. In the meantime, Knyphausen crossed
with a detachment of five thousand men from Staten
Island to New Jersey, and, taking possession of Eliza-
bethtown and burning Connecticut Farms, endeavored
to wrest the province from the American forces, but,
finding them too strong for him, was compelled to
retreat and to return to the city.
The treason of Arnold was the prominent event of the
year 1780. Brave almost to rashness, he had achieved
brilliant successes in the previous campaigns, and won
the implicit confidence of Washington. But despite his
consummate military talents — despite the northern cam-
paign and the battle of Behmus' Heights, in which his
tact and ability had won the admiration of both friends
and foes, he had for some time been growing unpopular
both with Congress and with the people. With the for-
mer, this was natural. Arnold was a man of fearless
courage ; no oflBcer in the ranks of the array had served
more efl&ciently or won more brilliant victories than had
he, and in acknowledged bravery and military ability he
stood foremost among the generals of the day ; yet,
despite this. Congress evinced a manifest disposition to
keep him in the background by promoting inferior offi-
cers above him, and constantly assigning to him subordi-
nate commands. Much of this may be attributed to
military jealousy ; much, too, it may be, to the fact that
he was known as a warm friend of Washington, who, at
ihis time, was far from popular in the councils of the
nation. Chafed by these tokeLi^ oi evident injustice, and
558 HISTORY OF THB
goaded on by a naturally jealous and imperious disposi-
tino, Arnold complained bitterly of the slights to which he
was subjected ; while Washington used every effort to
soothe his wounded spirit, and on the evacuation of
Philadelphia by the British forces in 1788, procured him
the command of the city. Soon after his entrance into
his new office, he married Margaret Shippen, the daugh-
ter of a well-known Tory citizen of Philadelphia, who
had been the friend and companion of the young British
officers quartered in the city during the previous winter,
among whom was Major Andr6, the aid-de-camp and
confidential friend of Sir Henry Clinton. This union
tempted him to the indulgence of his naturally luxu-
rious tastes; the finest house in the town was chosen by
liim as his residence, and fitted up in a costly style, and
his whole manage was conducted in a manner better
befitting the purse of a prince than that of a simple
officer of an impoverished army. This extravagance
soon excited the murmurs of the citizens, who openly
accused him of peculation. To add to this, he soon
became involved in disputes with the mayor and com-
mon council in respect to the bounds of his authority as
the military commandant of the city ; and, by their direc-
tion, he was finally prosecuted by the attorney-general
of the State on various charges of criminality and
willful abuse of power, tried by a court-martial, found
guilty in part, and sentenced to be reprimanded by the
commander-in-chief. This painful task was performed
by Washington with all possible delicacy ; despite the
faults of Arnold, he loved him as a brother, and had con-
stantly endeavored to soothe his fiery temper and to
CITY OF NEW TOBE,
559
CITY OP NEW TOBK. 561
persuade him to endure hi^ grievancee with manly forti-
tude. Stung to the quck by the public rebuke, the
proud and impatient general speedily resolved on a
revenge which, if not more justifiable, might have been
more excusable, had it not been mingled with mer-
cenary conditions. But, drawn on by his late alliance
to aspire to a luxurious household with little means of
support beyond those he derived from the impoverished
treasury of his country, he now resolved by selling him-
self to effect the twofold purpose of accompHshing his
revenge and of procuring the means for a continuance of
his pleasures.
For this purpose, he first offered himself to the
French ambassador, who rejected his overtures with
scorn. Foiled in this quarter, he next opened a nego-
tiation with Clinton through the medium of Major
Andr6, who received him with open arms. The better
to effect his treasonable designs, and to enhance their
value to the enemies of his country, he sought and
obtained the command of West Point, at this time the
key of the American possessions, which he proposed to
deliver into the hands of Clinton. The price of this
treachery was fixed at ten thousand pounds sterling,
with the post of brigadier-general in the British army.
At this time. Sir Henry Clinton had his head-quarters
in the Kennedy House, No. 1 Broadway, now the Wash-
ington Hotel. Here he laid his plans for the seizure of
West Point, and intrusted the brave young Andr6 with
the papers and commission necessary to effect the pur-
pose, which proved his death-warrant, paving the way
to an ignominious doom. The sequel has been too
86
562 HISTORY OF THE
often and too graphically described in general histories
to require a detailed notice at our hands. The gallant
young officer was arrested on his return from his
perilous errand, and, despite the earnest efforts of Clin-
ton, despite the anguish of Washington himself, con-
demned to execute a sentence against which his heart
revolted, was sacrificed to that inexorable military code
which prescribes an ignoble death on the gallows as the
inevitable doom of a spy. But far different was his
death from that of young Hale ; his last moments were
soothed by every attention that humanity could dictate,
and, a victim to the stern necessities of war, he met his
fate amid the tears of his executioners. Arnold, mean-
while, received the price of blood, and took up his abode
in New York, branded with the scorn even of those for
whom he had sacrificed his honor. Here he lived for
some time in partial concealment, sometimes in the
Verplanck House in Wall street, and sometimes at No. 9
Broadway, near the residence of Clinton. The most
earnest efforts were made by his incensed countrymen to
effect his capture. The gallant Champe, risking his life
and reputation, feigned to desert to the British army,
and, escaping with difficulty the pursuit of his comrades,
swam the river to New York, where he was warmly
received by Arnold, his perilous escape insuring full
faith in the fidelity of his professions. The supposed
deserter at once gained free access to the house in
Broadway, and matured his plans for the projected
capture. An alley adjoined the garden of the house,
through which the conspirators proposed to pass, and,
entering the garden by removing some palings, pre-
CITY OF NEW YOEK. 563
viously loosened by Champe, to proceed to the house
under the guidance of their comrade, seize their victim,
gag him, and carry him off by the same route to the
boat which would await them by the shore. The plan
was well laid ; a fortuitous circumstance alone prevented
its execution. On the day preceding the one fixed for
the capture, Champe was ordered to embark for Chesa-
peake, while Arnold removed from his head-quarters to
another house nearer the place of embarkation. The
Americans, punctual at the rendezvous, waited in vain
for several hours on the opposite shore ; then returned
to the camp, disappointed in one of their dearest
wishes. Champe seized the earliest opportunity to
desert from the southern army and return to his
comrades to clear up the stain that had rested on
his honor. Arnold remained in the service of the
British until the close of the war, when he repaired to
England, where he died in 1801, leaving a name black-
ened with infamy.
The winter of 1780-81 differed little from the pre-
ceding. Disaffection prevailed among the army, who
grumbled at their scanty fare and arrears of pay. So
violent did this feeling become that, on the first of
January, the Pennsylvania troops abandoned the main
army in a body, and set out for Philadelphia to demand
of Congress a redress of their grievances. On hearing
of this. Sir Henry Clinton at once dispatched emissaries
to induce them to desert to the British service, but the
indignant patriots seized the agents, bound them, and
delivered them up to Congress to be treated as spies.
They were met at Princeton by a deputation frou)
564 HISTORY OF THE
Congress, which promised them relief. Steps were
immediately taken to secure the needed provisions ;
taxes and requisitions were levied upon the surrounding
country, and money, ammunition and clothing were
furnished in tolerable supplies. Much of this was due
to the influence of Robert Morris, a wealthy merchant
of Philadelphia and able financier, at that time superin-
tendent of the treasury, who exhausted every resource
that his means and credit could offer, and resorted to
every expedient that his ingenuity could invent, to fur-
nish the necessary provisions and prevent the army from
disbanding in hopeless despair.
The southern campaign of this year opened favorably
for the Americans. General Greene, who had super-
seded Qtites in the conunand of the southern army,
harassed the British forces severely, and forced them at
length to retreat to Charleston, leaving him in possession
of the rest of the Carolinas. Meanwhile, Lafayette, in
Virginia, watched the movements of Cornwallis, and
thwarted his plans continually.
In June, the French army imder Coimt Rochambeau
marched from Newport to rejoin Washington in the
Highlands, and, at the same time, intelligence was
received that Count de Grasse was on his way from
France with a powerful fleet to the American coasts.
Anticipating that New York would be the next point of
attack, Clinton ordered Cornwallis to abandon the
interior of Virginia and march to the sea-coast, to be in
readiness to reinforce the garrison of the city. The
latter obeyed, and proceeding to Torktown on the south
side of York River, intrenched himself there ; Glou-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 565
cester'B Point, on the opposite side of the river, being
occupied by Col. Tarleton.
Toward the last of August, De Grasse appeared off
the coast, and, instead of proceeding, to New York as
had been expected, made his way to the Chesapeake,
where, entering the bay, he engaged the British fleet
under Graves which arrived a few days after, and covered
the landing of the French squadron from Newport which
had been dispatched with stores for the siege of Corn-
wallis, now blockaded at Torktown by several frigates
xmder the command of Lafayette. Worsted in the
action, Graves returned to New York to refit, leaving
De Grasse in possession of the bay. In the meantime,
Washington and Rochambeau, who had succeeded in
firmly persuading Clinton of their designs on New York,
suddenly took up their march for Yorktown, nor was the
astonished general aware of the feint until they were
safely encamped before the army of Comwallis.
Hoping to divert the attention of Washington, Clinton
dispatched Arnold on a marauding expedition against
Connecticut, which resulted in the burning of New Lon-
don, together with the destruction of Fort Qriswold and
the massacre of its brave commander. Captain Ledyard,
with the greater part of the garrison. But this brutal out-
rage did not serve to check the advances of the combined
armies, who had now completely invested Cornwallis.
On the evening of the 9th of October, a heavy fire was
opened by the besiegers on the town, which was con-
tinued at intervals for several days. On the 14th, a
simultaneous attack was made by a French and Ameri-
can detachment, the latter under the command of Alex-
566 HISTORY OF THE
ander Hamilton, upon two redoubts, in advaujce and on
the left of the British lines, which were successftiUj
carried. The works were immediately included within
the American li^es, and a cannonading opened thence
upon Comwallis. Seeing himself thus closely besieged,
his guns dismounted, his men constantly falling around
him, and all hope of escape definitively cut off, after a
last attempt at a desperate sally, the general at length
consented to surrender, and, on the 17th of October,
capitulated to the patriot forces, and surrendered him-
self with seven thousand troops as prisoners of war.
Five days afterwards, Sir Henry CUnton appeared in
the mouth of the Chesapeake with large reinforcements,
but on hearing of the surrender, returned with preci-
pitation to New York.
This signal victory virtually closed the war. PubUc
rejoicings were proclaimed throughout the country, and
the 13th of December was set apart as a day of general
thanksgiving. The victorious army separated ; De Grasse
set sail for the West Indies, Rochambeau bivouacked in
Virginia for the winter campaign, and Washington
returned with the main body of the army to his fortified
post in the Highlands, first sending St. Clair with a strong
detachment to the southern army to reinforce General
Greene.
Upon the reception of the news of this defeat in Eng-
land, Clinton was superseded in his command by Sir
Guy Carleton, who arrived at New York soon after,
and took up his residence in the Kennedy, now the Gov-
ernment House. But it was evident to all that the
appointment was merely nominal, and that the time had
CITY OF NEW YORK, 567
•
come for ^e cessation of hostilities. The peace party
in Parliament renewed their efforts to put an end to the
war, and, strengthened by the manifest public approval,
their influence grew so formidable that, on the 28th of
March,1782, Lord North resigned his place at the head
of the Cabinet His office was immediately filled by
Lord Rockingham, the leader of the opposition. Under
his leadership, the ftiture could not be doubtful, and Sir
Guy Carleton was charged with instructions to negotiate
for an early treaty of peace. The summer passed away
in correspondence and negotiations ; and it was not until
the 30th of November of the same year that preliminary
articles of peace were signed at Paris by Mr. Oswald,
on the part of Great Britain, and John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens in behalf
of the United States. Thomas Jefferson, who should
have been among the number, was absent by reason
of the illness of his wife. Similar articles were soon
after concluded between France and England. For
some time, the ambassadors attempted through intrigue
to prevail on the American Commissioners to accept a
truce for twenty years instead of an open acknowledg-
ment of independence ; and it is even asserted that
Franklin himself had nearly assented to this arrangement,
but, just at this juncture, John Jay arrived from Spain,
and flatly refused to accept such a compromise. Oswald
at length reluctantly consented to the proposed conditions,
and, on the 3d of September, 1783, signed a definitive
treaty on the part of Great Britain, recognizing the
independence of the United States, and fixing the great
lakes on the North and the Mississippi on the West as
568 CITY OF NEW TORK.
■
the boundarieB of the new natioiL The Flondas were
ceded to Spain, then* former owner, and the contested
point of an unlimited right of fishing on the banks of
Newfoundland was conceded to the United States by the
British government.
A cessation of hostilities had been proclaimed in the
American camp on the preceding 19th of April, the eighth
anniversary of the battle of Lexington. On the 3d of
November, 1783, the Continental army was disbanded by
order of Congress, and, on the 25th of the same month.
General Washington entered the city of New York at
noon, by the Bowery, then the only road, while, at the
same time, the British troops evacuated the city, and,
entering the ships that lay anchored in the harbor,
unfurled their sails and slowly sailed down the bay. The
American miUtia, under the command of General Enox,
immediately took command of the fort, the stars and
stripes for the first time were unfurled from its walls,
a triumphant salute was fired by the corps of artillery,
and, after a seven years' foreign occupation. New York
was again in possession of her citizens.
CHAPTER XVIIL
178S-1801.
Washington in STew Toric— Parting witli his Offloen at Fnumoes' Tayem— Progreas
of tha Ottj—The Dooton' Hob.
Not openly and fairly was this evacuation made ; the
British, departing by the provisions of an honorable
treaty, employed the last moments of their presence in
the city in the commission of a base and unmanly out-
rage. Unreeving the halliards of the flagstaff at Fort
George, they knocked off the cleats and greased the
pole to prevent the hoisting of the American colors ;
then evacuated the fort, sure that the stars and stripes
would not be hoisted until they were far out of sight of
their folds.
The discovery of this act excited general indignation,
yet it did not delay the ceremony as its perpetrators had
wished. A sailor-boy attempted at once to climb the
bare pole, but it was too slippery, and he failed in the
attempt. Upon this, the bystanders ran precipitately
to Goelet's hardware store in Hanover Square, and, pro-
curing hammers, nails, and other necessary tools, set to
m
670 HISTORY OP THB
work, some to saw, some to split, and others to bore new
cleats for the flagstaff. ' Filling his pockets with these,
the sailor-boy tied the halliards around his waist, and,
nailing the cleats above him on the right and left,
ascended, reeved the halliards, and hoisted the flag to its
place ; and as the stars and stripes reached the top of
the mast, a salute of thirteen guns rung its echoes in
the ears of the discomfited troops, not yet out of hear-
ing of the sound of triumph.
Another incident, related by an eye-witness of the scene,
who is still living, may serve to illustrate the reluctance
with which the British quitted their hold of the city
which they had so long claimed as their own. By the
conditions agreed upon, the city was to be surrendered
at noon, but an hnpatient shopkeeper in the neighbor-
hood of Chambers street anticipated the arrangement,
and hoisted the American flag during the course of the
morning. Provost-marshal Cunningham hastened to
the spot and confronted the proprietor. ** Pull down
**that flag;" exclaimed he with an oath; *'the city
** belongs to the British till noon." The man objected,
hesitated, and was on the point of yielding, when the
good woman of the house came to the rescue. "The
** flag shall not come down," said she. Cunningham
stormed and swore, and finally attempted to tear down
the colors with his own hands, but the woman assailed
him so vigorously with her broomstick, striking a cloud
of powder from his wig at each blow, that he was forced
at last to abandon the field and leave the stars and
stripes in quiet possession.
General Knox was at once installed as commander-in-
CITY OF NEW YORK
571
OITT OP NEW YORK. 673
chief of the military forces in the city. General
Washington lingered a few days, fixing his head-quarters
at Fraunces' or Black Sam's Tavern, as it was familiarly
called in allusion to the swarthy complexion of its pro-
prietor, on the comer of Pearl, then Queen, and Broad
streets, where at noon, on the 4th of December, his officers
assembled to bid him fitrewell. The scene was an affect-
ing one. The dangers and privations of years had knit
officers and general together as comrades, and now that
the object of all was attained, in the happiness of peace
was felt the pang of separation. Washington himself
could scarce restrain his feelings; his friends did not
attempt to do so. Filling a glass for a farewell toast, he
turned to the company and said : ** With a heart full of
** love and gratitude, I now take leave of you, and most
** devoutly wish that your latter days may be as pros-
'* perous and happy as your former ones have been
'* glorious and honorable." He raised the glass to his
lips, then continued : ** I cannot come to each of you to
** take my leave ; but shall be obliged if each one will
** come and take me by the hand." They obeyed in
silence — ^none could speak ; Knox first, then the others
embraced him in turn ; then turning silently from the
weeping group, he passed from the room, and walked
to Whitehall, followed by his comrades, where a barge
was in waiting to convey him to Paulus Hook. Having
entered the boat, he bade them adieu with a silent ges-
ture, and the procession returned to their place of
rendezvous, mute and dejected at the loss of their leader.
Washington proceeded to Annapolis, where Congress
was then in session, and, resigning his commission as
574 HISTORY OP THE
commander-in-chief, hastened to Mount Vernon to
resume the duties of a private citizen.
The city now began to fall back into a state of order,
and to resume the appearance of tranquillity. It was
time, indeed ; its commerce was ruined and its growth
retarded ; it had paid a heavy tribute to the cause of
liberty. No change was made in the character of the
city government. The Dongan and Montgomerie charters
were resumed as authority, the controlling power that
had formerly been exercised by Great Britain being
vested in the State. The city was still divided into seven
wards, an alderman and an assistant from each of which
were chosen annually by the people, while the appoint-
ment of the mayor remained with the State government.
This office was solicited by the mass of the people for
James Duane, a native-born citizen, who had wrecked his
fortune in the Revolutionary struggle, and had now
returned to his farm, near Gramercy Park, to find his
house burned and his property destroyed. The desired
appointment was granted by Clinton, and, on the 5th of
February, 1784, he was installed as the first mayor of
the city under the new regime ; an office which he con-
tinued to hold until 1789, when he resigned it for that of
District Judge of the District of New York.
On the 11th of September, General Lafayette passed
through the city on his return to France, and was
received with all the enthusiasm which a grateful people
could oflFer. Upon his arrival, he was waited upon by
the corporation, who tendered him a complimen-
tary address, with the freedom of the city. He
remained but a few days. On his departure, he was
CITY OP NEW YORK. 576
escorted to the wharf by a large concourse of citizens,
who witnessed his departure with sincere regret. The
same welcome was extended soon after by the city
authorities to John Jay, on his arrival from his success-
ful European mission, and also to Baron Steuben, who
visited. the city during the same autumn. On the 2d
of December, Washington arrived in the city, where he
was received with a burst of enthusiasm. The corpo-
ration paid him the highest honors in their power, while
the citizens vied with each other in proving by their
thanks that the days of the Revolution were not yet
forgotten.
The next few years wore away with little event.
Commerce, so long depressed, slowly revived, and pubUc
improvements were again talked of ; but, though much
was projected, Httle was done till the beginning of the
next century. The city was forced, as it were, to begin
life anew ; her trade was ruined, her treasury empty,
her people even yet divided among themselves. Feuds
were existing everywhere, the eflFect of the recent war.
The patriots returned from their long expatriation with
their hearts full of bitterness against those — and they
were many — who had clung to the royalist side and
remained in possession of their homes during the days
of trial ; while the latter indulged in bitter invectives
against the newly-established government, which, in many
'instances, had confiscated their estates, and branded
them by its success as traitors to their country. New
York was suflFering from all the evils which a seven
years' foreign occupation could inflict upon a city. Para-
lyzed by the long-continued dominion of a foreign army,
576 HISTOftY OP THE
with a disorganized governinent, an interrupted com-
merce, and a scattered population, years were needed to
recuperate its energies and fully to complete the work of
its resuscitation.
The spirit of public improvement soon revived, and
the city began to grow apace. The population at this
time numbered about twenty-three thousand inhabitants.
The first step towards progress was made in the
improvement of the waste ground about the CJoUect,
through which Reade and Duane streets were opened in
1794. The upper barracks along the line of Chambers
street, now useless for their original purpose, were
leased as dwellings for the benefit of the corporation*
These barracks, which had been built during the old
French war, were rude log huts, a single story in height,
extending from Broadway to Chatham street, and
inclosed by a high wall, with a gate at each end. From
the eastern, familiarly known as "Tryon's Gate," was
derived the name of the present Tryon Row.
The process of filling in and grading the grounds
about the Collect went on slowly ; ere long, it
infringed upon the lake itself. A survey of the pond
and the land about it was made in 1790, and, during the
following year, the corporation purchased the claim
of the heirs of Anthony Rutgers, for the sum of
one hundred and fifty pounds sterling. This done, the
pond was staked oflF, and the work of filling up the-
grounds in its vicinity from the neighboring hills went
on during several years. In 1TP6, a canal through Lis-
penard's Meadows, from the Collect to the North River,
was proposed and sometime after constructed along the
J
CITY OF NEW YORK
577
37
I
CITY OP NEW YORK. 679
line of Canal street. This canal was forty feet wide with
a street on each side of the width of thirty feet. A
stone bridge of a single arch, ten feet seven inches above
the surface of the meadow, crossed it at the junction of
Broadway and Canal street.
The pond, meanwhile, remained the same, deep, clear
and sparkling — a miniature sea in the heart of the city.
Its waters still furnished food for tbe angler, and rumors
were rife of strange sea monsters which had been seen
therein, one of which had carried off a Hessian trooper
in the days of the Revolution. It was a man-trap, too,
for the unwary traveller, and, jfrom time to time, a
citizen, who had mistaken his way in the darkness or
had drank too deeply, fell from its banks and was
drowned where now is solid ground. The possibility of
such a transformation had not yet occurred to the busy
speculators ; but schemes were projected to convert the
beautiful lake into a means of ornament and profit.
One company proposed to buy up the lands about it,
and, preserving the lake in its primitive condition, to lay
out a portion of the grounds as a public park, and
realize their expected profit from the enhanced value of
the remainder. But this project was scouted as vision-
ary by the cautioua capitalists, who could not credit that
the city would ever extend so far ; the proprietors of the
land, joining in the belief, were unwilling to risk their
property in so wild a scheme ; and the plan which would
have preserved an inland sea in the heart of the dty — ^a
natural feature shared by no other — ^was finally aban-
doned by its enterprising projectors.
Another company proposed to cutr a ship canal through
580 HISTORY OP THE
the island, connecting the pond with the rivers on either
side, and thus to convert it into a magnificent inland
harbor ; but this scheme failed for the same reasons as
the other — the capitalists lacked faith in such extrava-
gant hopes of the future city. " As the city increased and
the once-neglected lands grew valuable as gold-mines,
the Collect was gradually filled in from the surrounding
hills, till, in process of time, the lake over whose waters
the Indians had so often guided their canoes, was trans-
formed into firm earth, the site of the gloomy '* Tombs"
with. its neighborhood of crime and misery.
From the earliest times, the Dutch **Vlackte" or
Flat — the English Commons — had been recognized as
the property of the city, to be used for public purposes.
These purposes had been somewhat various, it is true ;
a pasture under the peaceful sway of the Dutch burghers,
it had become, in the stormy times which preceded the
Revolution, the gathering-place of the patriots — ^the
cradle of Liberty. What Faneuil Hall was to Boston,
was the Commons to New York. There the enthusiastic
Sons of Liberty, under the chieftainship of Scott, Sears,
Lamb and McDcugall, assembled to denounce the
obnoxious Stamp Act ; there they fought bravely in
defence of their Liberty-Pole, the exponent of a right
and a principle ; there they ended the battle of Golden
Hill — ^the first battle of the Revolution — a contest under-
taken, not from the impulse of sudden anger, but in
defence of the liberties of the people j there, too, were
the Bridewell, the New Jail and the old Provost, the
gloomy prisons of the victims of Howe and Clinton.
At this time, as heretofore, the Commons lay open.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 581
uninclosed by any kind of fence or wall. On the north
side, was the Alms House and House of Correction.
The Bridewell stood at the west end of the present City
Hall, and the New Jail, now the Hall of Records, occu-
pied its present position. Between the Alms House and
the Bridewell was the public gallows, which, transferred
in 1756 from its place near the lower end of the Park to
the foot of Catiemut's Hill, in the vicinity of the Five
Points, had been removed again to the Commons in
1784. In 1796, a new Alms House was built on
Chambers street in the rear of the old one, now so
dilapidated as to be unfit for further use, into which the
inmates were removed in the course of the following
year.
The Bridewell had been erected in 1775 on the site of
the first Liberty-Pole, and within the bounds of the
piece of land purchased for the second in 1770. This
land was still the property of the Sons of Liberty, and in
1785, Isaac Sears, in whose name it had been purchased,
claimed it on their behalf, and offered to release all
right and title to it for eighty pounds sterling, with law-
ful interest ; the amount of the original purchase money.
The claim was allowed by the corporation, and the sum
ordered forthwith to be paid ; but the said payment was
never made, and the groimds to the northwest of the
City Hall still belong to the heirs of the New Tork
Liberty Boys.
In 1790, the first sidewalks in the city were laid on
the west side of Broadway from Vesey to Murray street,
and opposite for the same distance along the Bridewell
fence. These were narrow pavements of brick and
582 HISTORY OF THE
stone, scarcely wide enough to permit two persons to
walk abreast. Above Murray street, Broadway was a
succession of hills, having its highest elevation in the
vicinity of Anthony street, where the road rose precipi-
tously over a steep hill, then descended as abruptly on
the other side to the valley at Canal street. In 1797,
the grade of Broadway from Duane to Canal streets was
established by the corporation, though some time
elapsed before the proposed improvement was reduced
to fact. The highest point of the projected grade was at
the intersection of Broadway and Leonard street, whence
it was to descend gradually to the bridge across the
meadow at Canal street, where the land required to be
raised about seven inches. But, in return, at Leonard
street, it was necessary to cut through the hill to the
depth of fifteen and a half feet, and at Anthony street to
the depth of twenty-two feet nine inches. At Pearl
street, the ground was four feet nine inches above the
proposed grade.
The need of street numbers had been for some time
rendered apparent by the increasing growth of the city,
and in 1793, the corporation appointed a committee to
prepare and report a feasible system. This was done,
and the proposed method, beginning at the next house
in every street terminating at either of the rivers, at the
intersection of the main street next the river, and num-
bering all houses below these intersecting streets, begin-
ning with No. 1, looking upward in all the main streets
and downward in all the slips, and so on to the end of
the street or slip, was adopted by the corporation.
From the evacuation of New York by the British
-t^^i8fci
J
CITY OP NEW YORK. 583
troops in 1783 to the organization of the Federal Gov-
ernment in 1789, the most exciting event that happened
in the city was probably the riot, known since familiarly
as the Doctors' Mob. During the winters of 1787 and
1788, a number of dead bodies had been dug up by
stealth by medical students and others, not only from
the Potter's Field and the Negroes' Burial-Ground —
then reckoned lawful prey — but from the private ceme-
teries of the city ; and the fact becoming known, excited
a general ferment among the people, and awakened a
violent prejudice against the medical profession. As is
usual in such cases, the facts were greatly exaggerated
by public rumor, the most absurd reports were circu-
lated through the city, and the New York Hospital — at
that time the only one — was regarded by the people with
superstitious horror. On the 13th of April, while the
public mind was in this excited state, some students
thoughtlessly exposed the Umb of a body from the win-
dow of the dissecting-room in sight of a group of boys
who were at play in the rear of the Hospital. The news
spread lik# lightning, and was instantly caught up by the
unemployed crowds who were loitering in the streets to
enjoy the leisure of the day. An immense multitude
speedily assembled, and, besieging the Hospital, burst
open the doors, and destroyed a collection of anatomical
preparations, the most of which had been imported from
abroad. Some fresh subjects were discovered, which
were borne away and interred in triumph. The terrified
physicians attempted to secrete themselves, but were
dragged from their hiding-places, and would assuredly
have been sacrificed to the fury of the crowd, had not
584 HISTORY OP THE
the magistrates interfered and lodged them in the jail
for safety. Satisfied with their work of vengeance, the
crowd dispersed, and the physicians flattered themselves
that the ufFair was over-
They were mistaken ; it was but the beginning of the
play. The next morning, the crowd assembled with
fresh reinforcements, and avowed their purpose of
searching the houses of the suspected physicians. Clin-
ton, Hamilton, Jay and others remonstrated, assiu-iug
them that justice would be rendered them by the law ;
and, after searching Columbia College and several of the
suspected houses, they were at length persuaded to
retire.
In the afternoon, matters grew more serious. A
party of the more violent gathered about the jail, and
demanded possession of the students who were lodged
there. This demand was of course refused ; to have
complied would have been to deliver over the victims to
certain destruction^ Alarmed at the hostile attitude of
the gathering, the mayor promptly called out the militia,
and, about three o'clock, dispatched a small party to the
defence of the refugees, which was suffered by the mob
to pass without much molestation. A reinforcement of
twelve men, dispatched to their aid an hour after, were
arrested and disarmed before they reached the jail.
K lilted with this success, the rioters next attacked the
building, but were beaten back by the handful of militia
which had first been sent there, and which maintained
its ground against desperate odds«
The city became the scene of intense excitement. The
mob, unable to force the jail, tore down the fences and
CITY OP NEW YORK. 585
broke the windows, vowing destruction to every doctor
in the city. The crowd about the building increased
every moment, and the position of affairs grew so alarm-
ing that, about dusk, the mayor marched with a large
party of armed citizens to the relief of the besieged.
The friends of law and order hastened to the spot, and
vainly exerted their eloquence to allay the tempest and
prevent the shedding of blood. They were assailed in
reply by a volley of stones and brickbats, one of which
struck John Jay in the forehead while he was earnestly
entreating the multitude to disperse, and felled him to
the earth, wounding him severely. Finding all other
arguments in vain, the mayor at length determined to
fire upon the rioters. Baron Steuben interposed and
implored him to desist, but, before he could finish the
entreaty, a stone whizzed through the air and laid him
prostrate. ** Fire, mayor, fire !" cried he, before he had
touched the ground. The mayor hesitated now no lon-
ger ; the order was given, the militia obeyed, and a
number of the rioters fell at the first volley, while the
remainder dispersed without waiting for the second.
Five persons were killed in the fray, and seven or eight
severely wounded.
A ludicrous incident, illustrative of the height of the
popular fury, occurred during the riot, which was
nearly attended by disastrous consequences^ While the
excitement was at its height, a party of the rioters
chanced to pass the house of Sir John Temple, then
resident British Consul at New York, and mistaking the
name of " Sir John" for ** surgeon," attacked it furiously,
and were with difficulty restrained from levelling it to
686 HISTORY OF THE
the ground. For some days, the militia kept guard
about the jail, but no other attempt was made at
violence. The oflFending students were sent into the
country for a time, and the public excitement by degrees
became allayed. But the venerable hospital was hence-
forth invested by the populace with a sort of horror,
and became the scene of many a fearful resurrectionist
legend.
By the Articles of Confederation, under which the
States had continued to act since the close of the war,
each State was constituted an independent sovereignty,
governed exclusively by its own legislature, and only
subject as a political body to the general Congress,
which, even then, had no power to force compliance
with its dictates, or to prevent one State from making
war upon another. Without credit, without revenue,
empowered only to advise, and iminvested with any
executive authority, this Congress was, indeed, but a
mere farce, and the Articles **a rope of sand," a^ they
were termed at the time. The need of a closer union
of the States and of an eflBcient general government,
soon became apparent. The coimtry was in an impover-
ished condition ; besides a foreign debt of eight millions,
a domestic debt of nearly thirty millions had been
incurred by the war ; yet Congress had no power to
meet these obligations, but only to urge the States to
raise money for the purpose. The officers and soldiers
of the Revolutionary army, who had received but four
months' pay, were clamoring for their arrears, but no
money could be found to discharge the debt. Some of
the States endeavored to meet these demands by levy-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 587
ing heavy taxes upon the citizens ; but this proceeding
excited general discontent, and in Massachusetts, an
insurrection ensued, which was with difficulty suppressed
by force. The State treasuries were exhausted, com-
merce was prostrated, the people, impoverished by the
late war, were imable to support additional burdens,
and, in the absence of a responsible general government,
all hope of relief from credit was necessarily futile. In
this exigency, a convention, growing out of a propo-
sition of James Madison, of Virginia, was held at Anna-
polis in September, 1786, for the purpose of amending
the Articles of Confederation. Their deliberations
resulted only in paving the way for another convention,
composed of delegates from all the States, which was
held at Philadelphia in the following May, with Q-eorge
Washington as president. After four months' delibera-
tions, on the 17th of September, 1787, the present Con-
stitution of the United States was accepted by the
Convention, and submitted to the different States for
approval.
Notwithstanding the obvious need of a consolidated
government, the proposed Constitution was opposed by
a large portion of the inhabitants, who averred that
it placed too much power in the hands of the Executive ;
and the States came slowly into the Union. Since the
restoration of peace, two political parties had sprung
into existence in New York. One of the primary causes
of this division was the bill disfranchising all who had
adhered to the British government during the war,
which had passed the Assembly of 1784, chiefly through
Ihe efforts of the Sons of Liberty who composed the
588 HI8T0KT0FTHB
New York representation.* This act bore heavily upon
the loyalists, many of whom were also attainted for
treason, and their estates confiscated to the government ;
and urgent efforts were made by them to procure its
repeal, which were stoutly opposed by the Sons of
Liberty, but were seconded by Hamilton and Schuyler.
Through the influence of these powerful friends, the act
was finally repealed on the 3d of February, 1787, and
the loyalists reinstated in their privileges of citizenship.
This act, denounced by the Liberty Boys as emanating
from British influence, won the loyalists over to the side
of Hamilton, and secured concurrence in his efforts
for the adoption of the new Constitution. The
opposite party, meanwhile, known familiarly as the
** French party," for their sympathy with the struggle
for independence now going on in France and their
hatred of the opposing British influences, denounced the
new Constitution in no measured terms, and exerted
themselves to the utmost to prevent its acceptance by
the people.
This new issue drew a marked line between the
parties. The federalists, comprising the refranchised
royalists, indorsed the new Constitution ; the anti-
Federalists opposed it with all its adjuncts. The Consti-
tution had already been accepted by the nine States
necessary for its adoption, beginning with Delaware and
ending with Massachusetts ; yet New York still held
* John Lamb, Marinus Willett, Isaac Sears, Henry RutgeTs, William Maloolm,
Robert Harpur, John Stagg, Peter P. Van Zandt and Hngh Hughes, most of whom
were well known as active Sons of Liberty, were the New York representatives to
this first Assembly after the close of the war.
CITY OF NBW YOEK. 589
aloof. On the 17th of June, 1788, the Convention of
the State of New York assembled at Poughkeepsie to
deliberate on the matter. Governor Clinton, the presi-
dent of the Convention, was a stanch anti-federalist ;
while Alexander Hamilton and John Jay assumed the
leadership of the federalist party, which was in the
minority in the Convention, The State, at this time,
was emphatically anti-federalist ; the city, on the con-
trary, eminently federalist. In the latter, a society had
been organized some time before under the name of
Federal-Republicans, with John Lamb as chairman and
his son-in-law, Charles Tillinghast, as secretary, to con-
cert measures to prevent the adoption of the Constitution
with its opponents throughout the Union, and this party
through their organ, Greenleaf^s Patriotic Register — the
Holt's Gazette of the Revolution — assailed the actions
and motives of the federalists, and stimulated the
opposition of their friends at Poughkeepsie. The fede-
ralists, on their side, spared nothing that might forward
the success of their design. On the 23d of July, three
days before the adoption of the Constitution, a thirty-
two gun frigate, christened " the Federal Ship Hamil-
ton," and manned by thirty seamen and marines under
the command of Commodore Nicholson, was drawn by
ten horses through the streets in procession from the
Bowling Green to Bayard's Farm, in the vicinity
of Grand street, where tables were spread in the
open air, and a plentiful dinner provided for the whole
company, consisting of four or five thousand persons.
This demonstration, the first procession of the kind
ever witnessed in the city, excited the ciuiosity of the
590 HISTORY OF THE
public to the highest degree, and thousands flocked
to the town from the neighboring country to witness the
spectacle. The Patriotic Register, however, indulged
freely in sarcastic remarks on the occasion, and so
incensed the federalists, that, on the announcement on
the 26th of the adoption of the Constitution, the spirit
of mobocracy broke forth with violence, and a crowd
of rioters, proceeding to the office of the paper in
Pine street, broke open the door with axes, and
demolished the press and types. Greenleaf, with an
apprentice, after vainly endeavoring to defend his
property, made his escape at the rear of the building
into Wall street.
Emboldened by this success, the rioters next made
their way to the house of John Lamb in Wall street,
about midway between Pearl and William streets ;* but,
anticipating the attack, preparations had been made for
defence. The doors and windows were barred and the
halls and stairways barricaded, and General Lamb, Col-
onel Oswald, and Major John Wiley, with two youths and
a colored servant, were stationed in the second story
with loaded muskets, while the yoimgest daughter of
Gen. Lamb, with Miss Chapman, a visitor from Connec-
ticut, and a cololred servant, who had refused to quit the
house, were stationed in the attic as a reserve force, with
an ample supply of Dutch tiles and empty bottles to be
launched at the heads of the rioters. The mob, now
• John Lamb was at this time Collector of Oustoina for the port of Kev Tork,
haTing been appointed to the offioe in 1784. Apartof hfareaidenoewasuMdlbrtiie
Onatom Hoiue, the bnaineM being not yet large enough to warrant a aqiarate
establiahment.
CITY OP NEW YORK, 5&1
inereased to thousands, surroimded the house, yelling,
shouting and threatening an attack, but to these the
inmates made no reply ; and at length the rioters, con-
duding the house to be either deserted or strongly
garrisoned, held a council of war, and determined to
withdraw. The city soon subsided into a state of quiet,
and the new constitution was gradually acquiesced in
by the opposition.
On the 13th of September, 1789, the adoption of the '
Constitution was publicly declared, and the cily of New
York selected as the seat of the general government.
This involved the need of more extensive acconmioda-
tions. The City Hall in Wall street, in which the Con-
tinental Congress had been accustomed to meet, was fall-
ing to decay, and the exhausted city treasury furnished no
means wherewith to make the necessary repairs. In
this emergency, a niunber of wealthy gentlemen
advanced the requisite sum ; the Hall was remodelled
under the direction of Major L'Enfant, and placed by
the corporation at the disposal of the general govern-
ment. On the 4th of March, 1789, the day appointed
for the assembling of Congress, bells were rung and
cannon fired, and the hall was thrown open for the
expected session ; but only a handful of the members
made their appearance. Unable to transact business in
the absence of a quorum, they issued a circular letter to
their colleagues — and waited. Their patience was put
somewhat severely to the test. The roads were bad,
railroads and steamboats unknown, packets and stages
few, and punctuality, withal, regarded as a thing of
minor importance ; and it was not imtil the 6th of April
592 HISTORY OF THE
that enough of the straggling members of both houses
had come in to constitute a quorum and enable them to
declare the result of the election. On the day in ques*
tion, both houses assembled in the Senate Chamber, the
votes were opened and read, two lists made out, the
House of Representatives withdrew to its chamber, tlie
votes were counted, and George Washington was declared
unanimously elected first President of the United States.
John Adams, having received the next highest number,
was declared elected Vice-President, and messengers
were dispatched to the new officials to notify them of
the result.
John Adams was the first to arrive* Reaching New
York on the 21st of April, he was met at the boundary
line by Governor Clinton, with a military escort, and
conducted to Kingsbridge. Here he was received by
the Senate and House of Representatives, together with
several companies of militia, and escorted to the City
Hall, where he delivered his inaugural address. Two
days afterward, Washington arrived. His journey from
Mount Vernon had been a march of triumph. Every-
where he was met with rejoicings, nor could he, with his
utmost endeavors, extricate himself from these public
expressions of their gratitude. He had wished to travel
unostentatiously as a private citizen ; but he found this
impossible without harshly repelling the h-eartfelt wel-
come that was everywhere offered to him. At Alexandria
he was greeted by a public entertainment, which was
repeated at Georgetown ; on the confines of Pennsylva-
nia he was met by a large escort, headed by Mifflin, his
ancient enemy, now governor of the State, who
C/TY OP NEW YORK.
693
38
CITY OP NEW YORK. 595
conducted him to Philadelphia, where a splendid ovation
was prepared for him ; and at Trenton, the bridge over
which he had once retreated before Cornwallis to fall on
the enemy's forces at Princeton, was strewn with flowers
by a band of maidens, and he was escorted into the town
with military honors by an inmiense concourse of
citizens. At Elizabethtown Point he was met by a com-
mittee from both houses of Oongress, which, embarking
with him in a barge which ha4 heen splendidly fitted up,
Mcorted him to the landing-place at the foot of Wall
street, where Governor Clinton was in waiting to receive
him, attended by the State and city officers. Landing
at the stairs at the foot of Murray^s Wharf, which had
been decorated for the occasion, he was escorted by a
large procession to No 1 Cherry street, formerly occupied
by Samuel Osgood, which had been prepared for his
reception, whence he proceeded to Governor Clinton^s
to dinner. In the evening , ihe city was splendidly illu-
minated, and a brilliant display of fireworks closed the
demonstrations.
The Federal Hall was not yet finished, and a week
Blapsed before the arrangements for the inauguration could
be completed. For this, the outer balcony of the Senate
Chamber, looking down on Broad street, was chosen ;
Congress having prescribed that the ceremony should
take place in public and in the open air. The 30th of
April was fixed fbr the inauguration. At nine in the
morning, religious services were performed in all the
churches. A little after noon, a procession was formed
ftom the house of the President elect, consisting of the
dty cavalry, with the members of Congress and the
596 HISTORY OF THE
heads of departments in carriages, followed by Washing-
. ton alone in a carriage, his aid-de-camp and secretary,
Colonel Humphreys and Tobias Lear, with the resident
foreign ministers, also in carriages, bringing up the rear.
Having reached the Senate Chamber, he was conducted
by Vice-President Adams to his seat, then informed that
all was ready for taking the oath of oflBce. Upon this,
he rose and proceeded to the balcony, followed by the
Senate and House of Representatives. Adams, Kiiox,
Steuben, and Hamilton, his old companions in arms and
danger, grouped around him. Chancellor Livingston
administered the oath, and, as he ended with the exclam-
ation, ** Long live George Washington, first President of
" the United States !" the multitude rent the air with
shouts of applause. Returning to the Senate Chamber,
he delivered his inaugural address, then proceeded on
foot, with the whole assembly, to St. Paul's church,
where prayers were read by Bishop Provost, lately
appointed by the Senate as one of the chaplains of Con-
gress ; after which, he was escorted back to his residence.
In the evening, there was a display of fireworks on the
Battery, and the houses of the French and Spanish
ministers were brilliantly illuminated. A month later,
Mrs. Washington arrived, and was received at the
Battery with the federal salute of thirteen guns, and
escorted from the landing-place with military honors.
This ceremonial over, Washington's life in New York
was simple and unostentatious. The new presidential
mansion, to make room for which the old fort had been
levelled in 1787-88, had not yet been completed, nor
was it until after the removal of Congress, when it
CITY OP NEW YORK. 597
became the residence of Governor Clinton, and.was some
time afterward transformed into the Custom House.
During the first session of Congress, he continued to
occupy the house which had been assigned him in Cherry
street, the acconmiodations of which were so limited
that three of his secretaries — Humphreys, Nelson and
Lewis — were obliged to content themselves with a single
room. Tobias Lear, his principal secretary, with his as-
sistants, Thomas Nelson, and Robert Lewis ; his aids-de-
camp, Colonel Humphreys and Major Jackson, and Mrs.
Washington with her two children, constituted his house-
hold. His house was handsomely but plainly furnished.
On Tuesdays, from three to four, he held a public levee ;
on Thiirsdays, he gave congressional dinners ; and on
Friday evenings, Mrs. Washington held her receptions.
The whole establishment savored of republican sim-
plicity, the chief tendency toward luxury being shown
in the horses, which were remarkably fine, and were
groomed with scrupulous care. Washington was simple
and abstemious in his habits. He rose regularly at four
o'clock, and went to bed at nine. On Saturdays, he
sought relaxation from his labors by riding into the
country, either on horseback, or with his family in the
coach-and-six. In the evening, he sometimes visited the
theatre in John street, at that time the only one in the
city, which had been erected during the occupation of the
British, and used by the officers for amateur theatricals.*
* The earilest theatrkuls in New York were in a store on Gmger's Wharf; near Old
Slip, where a number of young men used to meet and amuse themselves with amateur
performances. The first regular theatre was a stone building, erected in 1750 in the
rear of the Dutch Church in Nassau street Mr. Hallam was the manager, with a
598 HISTORY OF THB
In this theatre, ** which was so small," says Custis in his
* Recollections and Private Memoirs of the Life and
" Character of Washington," *'that the whole fabric might
** easily have been placed on the stage of one of our
" modem theatres f the stage boxes were set apart for
the President and Vice-President and adorned with ap-
propriate emblems and decorations. The playbills were
inscribed Vivat RepubUca. The performances were
good, and the company included several players of
merit, among whom was Morris, who had been the asso*
ciate of Garrick in the beginning of his career. It was
here that the national air of " Hail Columbia" was first
played, havuig been composed by Fyles, a German
musician, the leader of the orchestra, in compliment to
the President. On Sunday morning, when the wpather
was fine, Washington and his family attended St. Paul's
church, where his pew may yet be seen ; in the evening,
he read to his wife, receiving no visitors. He laid it
down as a rule to return no visits, and gave no dinner
invitations except to officials and foreigners of distinc-
tion. For some time, the adoption of a title suitable to his
position was discussed by Congress, but was finally aban-^
doned by common consent, and the simple but dignified
address of " President of the United States," first con*
ferred on him by the House of Representatives in reply
tolerably good company; but, after a time, he removed to Jamaica, and the
theatre was, in conaeqaence, pulled down. The second was a wooden building,
in Beekman street, a few doors below Nassau, erected with the permission of
Lieutenant-GoYemor Golden, by Philip Miller in 17M. Tliis was destroyed by the
liberty Boys during the days of the Stamp Act, in reTenge for some insulting alhisioa
in the play. The next in order was the theatre in John street, above cited.
CITY OP NBW YORK. 5&ft
to his inaugural speech, adhered to then and henceforth
by the nation.
During the residence of Washington in Cherry street,
he was attacked by a dangerous iUness, which rendered
a surgical operation necessary. The elder and younger
Drs. Bard were his physicians. Washington bore the
torture with surprising firmness. ** Cut away— deeper,
deeper still ;" exclaimed the father to his son, whom he
had deputed to perform the operation through distrust of
his own nerves, " don't be afraid ; you see how well he
bears it." For a time, he was considered in a critical
situation, and the greatest anxiety was manifested in the
city. The pavement in front of his residence was
strewn with straw, and chains were stretched across the
neighboring streets ; but the operation proved eminently
successful, and his speedy recovery removed all cause of
alarm. Upon his convalescence, he set out upon a tour
through the New England States, from which he returned
a short time before the opening of the second session of
Congress on the 8th of January, 1790. About the same
time, he removed to the Macomb House, No. 39 Broad-
way, afterward Bunker^s Mansion House, where he con*
tinned to reside during his stay in New York.
This stay was not a long one. Since the first adoption
of the federal constitution, the country had been in a fer-
ment in respect to the location of the permanent seat of
government. The eastern States preferred New York,
Pennsylvania clamored for its return to Philadelphia or
the vicinity, the people of New Jersey petitioned for its
removal to the shores of the Delaware, while Maryland
aud Virginia, with the rest of the southern States, urged
600 HISTORY OP THE
the banks of the Potomac as the central location.
During the first session, the banks of the Susquehanna
had very nearly been chosen as the site ; and no sooner
had the second session opened, than the discussion was
renewed with unabated ardor. Each party persisted in
urging its claims, and it was only by a somewhat curious
compromise that an amicable arrangement was finally
effected, and the District of Columbia selected as the
capital of the United States.
Early in the session, Alexander Hamilton, then
Secretary of the Treasury, threw a new apple of discord
into the assembly by proposing that, for the mainte-
nance of the public credit, the general government
should assume, not only the public foreign and domestic
debt, amounting to fifty-four millions, but also the debts
of the States, contracted during the Revolution, and
estimated at twenty-five millions. The foreign debt was
assumed without hesitation, as was also the domestic
debt after considerable opposition, but here the question
rested. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New
Jersey, Delaware, South Carolina and a part of Penn-
sylvania, joined in favoring the assumption of the debts
of the States, while Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, New
Hampshire and the remaining part of the Pennsylvania
delegation opposed the measure with so much acrimony
that, at one time, a dissolution of the Union seemed
inevitable. The debts of most of the opposing States
were small ; some objected to thus increasing the power
of the general government ; others, on the contrary,
advocated it as a federal measure ; but neither party
could claim a majority. At this juncture, as a last
CITY OP NEW YORK. 601
resort, a compromise was eflfected through the joint
agency of Jeflferson and Hamilton, and two of the Vir-
ginian representatives were induced to vote for the
assumption ; while the Northerners, in return, ceded the
other point at issue, and fixed the permanent seat of the
general government on the banks of the Potomac ;
though, by way of salvo to the feelings of the disap-
pointed Pennsylvanians, it was agreed that it should first
remain for ten years at Philadelphia. The precise loca-
tion was left to the President, who was to appoint com-
missioners to choose a site within certain limits from the
lands which had been profifered by Maryland and Vir-
ginia. These States, as well as Pennsylvania and New
Jersey, in their eagerness to secure the capital of the
nation, had not only offered to furnish the necessary
ground, but also to appropriate money for the erection
of the public buildings, and, in the impoverished state
of the country, this saving of expenditure proved a
strong argument in their favor. Both bills soon after
passed the Senate, the former with various amendments ;
the federal government agreed to assume the greater
portion of the State debts in certain specified propor-
tions, and the month of December, 1800, was fixed as
the date of the opening session of Congress at the capital
city of Washington in the new District of Columbia,
Since the close of the war, Indian affairs had been in
an unsettled state along the western and southern fron-
tiers. Soon after the conclusion of peace with Great
Britain, treaties had been negotiated with the various
tribes which had taken part against the United States
during the war ; but these adjustments had proved
U02 HISTOBY OF THB
unsatisfactory, and the natives complained bitterly of the
constant encroachments g( the whites upon their boun-
daries. In the Carolinas and Q-eorgia, discontent
ripened into open war. The Cherokeeg, who claimed
the northern part of the States as well as the greater
portion of the State of Tennessee, were worsted in the
strife and forced to flee to the Creeks for protection ; the
latter, who inhabited Alabama and Georgia, strengthened
by an aUiance with the Spaniards in Florida, carried on
the war with greater success, and, headed by their chief,
Alexander McGillivray, severely harassed the settle-
ments of the Georgians. McGillivray was a half-breed,
the son of a Scotchman, who, educated by his father in
the best schools of Charleston, had inherited the chief*
tainship through the line of his mother, according to the
custom of the nation, and turned his talents and educa-
tion to good account by devising ways and means to
strengthen its power. Bred in a counting-house and
familiar with mercantile aflfairs, he opened a profitable
trade with the Spaniards, through whom he obtained
the arms and ammunition necessary for the successful
continuance of the war.
Led by an enemy of superior intelligence, this out-
break occasioned considerable alarm, and, soon after the
opening of the first session of Congress, General Lincoln,
Colonel Humphreys and David Griflfin were dispatched
as commissioners to the scene of contest to adjiist the
boundaries of the disputed territory. This was a tract
of land, west and south of the Oconee River, which the
Georgians claimed had been ceded to them by three
successive treaties ; while the Creeks alleged that these
OITT OF NEW YOBK. •QOB
treaties had been obtained by force or fraud, and there-
fore could not be held as binding upon the nation. The
commissioners were well received by McGillivray and
his warriors, but, refusing to restore the lands, they
eflfected nothing except to obtain a temporary cessation
of hostilities.
The next year, Colonel Marinus Willett was dispatched
by Washington to open a new negotiation. Disguising
himself as a simple trader, in obedience to his instruc-
tions, he entered the Indian camp and sounded the dis-
position of the natives ; then, thi-owing off the mask, he
avowed his errand, and invited McGillivray to go with
him to New York to talk with the Great Father. To
this proposal, McGillivray consented, and set out in the
beginning of the summer, accompanied by twenty-eight
chief and warriors of the nation. Their arrival excited
considerable interest in the dty. On landing, they were
met by the Tammany Society, arrayed in Indian cos-
tume, which escorted them to their lodgings on the banks
of the North River at the tavern known henceforth as
the Indian Queen. Here they remained for more than
six weeks, negotiating the terms of a treaty with Gene-
ral Knox, the commissioner appointed by Washington
for that purpose, and, the matter being at length satisfac-
torily arranged, the treaty was ratified, in true Indian
style in Federal Hall in Wall street, on the 13th of
August, the day after the adjournment of the second
session of Congress. At 12 o'clock, the Creek deputa-
tion was met by the President and his suite in the Hall
of the House of Representatives, where the treaty was
read and interpreted, after which, Washington addressed
604 • HISTORTOPTHE
the warriors in a short but emphatic speech, detailing
and explaining the justice of its provisions; to each of
which, as it was interpreted to them, McGillivray and
his warriors gave the Indian grunt of approval. The
treaty was then signed by both parties, after which
Washington presented McGillivray with a string of
wampum, as a memorial of the peace, with a paper of
tobacco as a substitute for the ancient calumet, grown
obsolete and unattainable by the innovations of modern
times. McGillivray made a brief speech in reply, the
** shake of peace" was interchanged between Washing-
ton and each of the chiefs, and the ceremony was con-
cluded by a song of peace, in which the Creek warriors
joined with enthusiasm. The warriors, indeed, had good
reason to be satisfied with this treaty, which ceded to
them all the disputed territory, and distributed presents
and money liberally among the nation. Almost imme-
diately after its ratification, the Creeks returned to their
homes in the South, leaving their name as a memorial to
their place of entertainment.
The visit of the Indians closed the official career of
New York as the capital city of the nation, but this did
not retard her prosperity, as at the time was greatly
feared. Freed from the distractions of poUtical excite-
ment, the people turned their attention to mercantile
pursuits, and soon made of their city the commercial
centre of the western continent. In the autumn of
1789, James Duane was succeeded in the mayoralty by
Colonel Richard Varick, who, since the evacuation, had
been the city recorder. Colonel Varick was a popular
lawyer of the city, who had won his miUtary title in the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 605
service of Schuyler in the northern army, and, after wit-
nessing the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga and the
defeat of Burgoyne, had been aid-de-camp to Arnold till
the discovery of his treason, after which he had served
Washington as secretary until the close of the war.
In 1793, war broke out between Prance and England,
and on the 9th of April, just five days after the news
reached New York, Citizen Genet arrived at Charleston
as the accredited minister to the United States from the
new French Republic. This war placed the nation in
an embarrassing position. Bound on one hand to
France by obligations of gratitude as well as by the con-
ditions of a treaty of alliance, it was pledged on the
other hand by the federal policy to preserve strict neu-
traUty in European wars. The nation became divided,
the anti-federalists warmly espoused the cause of the
French party, while the federalists, with Hamilton at
their head, insisted that the treaty had been annulled by
the change in the French government ; or, at all events,
did not apply in case of an oflFensive war. Washington
inclined to the latter opinion, and, while he received
G^net as the minister of the Republic, proclaimed a strict
neutrality in respect to warlike operations. This greatly
displeased Genet, as well as the anti-federalists, who,
warmly attached to France and detesting England,
cheered on their late allies in their struggle for liberty,
and warmly seconded the French minister in fitting out
privateers from their ports to cruise against nations hos-
tile to France. The journey of Genet through the States
was a march of triumph. Everywhere, he was f§ted
and caressed ; in Philadelphia, he met with an enthusi-
606 HISTORY OF THB
astic reception, and in New York, where he arrived on
the 8th of August, he was welcomed with ringing of
bells and salutes of cannon in honor of the success of
republican France. The opposition papers of the day —
Freneau's (razett€ and Bache's Oeneral Advertiser at
Philadelphia, Qreenleaf's Patriotic Register at New
York, the Chromck at Boston, and all the republican
press beside, warmly espoused the cause of the minister,
and commenced a crusade against the course of the gov-
ernment. Encouraged by these manifestations of popu-
lar sympathy, Genet fitted out numerous privateers
from the American ports, manned in many cases by
American seamen, which, in the course of a few months,
captured nearly fifty British vessels in direct violation
of the President's proclamation of neutrality. On the
12th of June, the Ambuscade, which had brought Genet
to the United States, arrived at New York, where her
officers and crew were welcomed with enthusiasm by the
anti-federalists, now first called democrats in derision,
by reason of their sympathy with the Jacobins of the
French Revolution, The Liberty-Cap was hoisted on
the flagstaff of the Tontine CoflFee-House, and all true
patriots exhorted to protect it ; tri-colored cockades
were worn, the Marseillaise was chanted, and, for a sea-
son. New York seemed transformed into a veritable
French city. On the 22d of June, the Ambuscade sailed
on a cruise, from which she returned on the 14th of
July. During her stay in port, an event occurred which
greatly incensed the friends of Genet, and certainly
reflected no credit upon British honesty. On the 21st,
a frigate appeared oflf Sandy Hook, which was reported
CITY OF NBW YORK. 607
by a pilot-boat that came in as the Concorde, a consort
of the Ambuscade, and, too eager to await her arrival,
the lieutenant with a boat's brew went out to meet her.
Deceived by the tri-colored flag, which was hoisted on
their approach, the party nK>unted the decks, and found
themselves .prisoners of war on board the British frigate
Boston. This act of treachery was severely and deserv-
edly denounced by the republicans, who urged Captain
Bompard of the Ambuscade to accept the challenge sent
directly after by way of bravado by the British captain
to meet him at sea, and even entered the lists themselves
for the coming contest. Escorted by a fleet of pilot-
boats, filled with spectators, the Ambuscade sailed down
I3ie bay on the 30th of July, and encountered the Boston
off Sandy Hook. A bloody action ensued, in which Cap-
tain Courtney of the Boston was killed, and his vessel
disabled. Finding it impossible to hold out any longer,
the British frigate at length bore away for Halifax, piir*
sued for some distance by the triumphant Ambuscade.
On the 3d of August, a French fleet of fifteen sail
arrived at New York, where the ofiSpers were warmly
received by the republicans. On the 7th of the same
month, Oenet arrived at Paulus Hook on his way to the
Eastern States, and was greeted with extravagant
demonstrations of welcome. Bells were rung, cannon
fired, and a great meeting held in the fields, at which
a committee of forty was appointed to wait upon the
ambassador and escort him into the city. The federalists,
on the other hand, backed by the Chamber of Com-
merce, held counter-meetings, denouncing the conduct
of the French minister, and warmly indorsing the
608 HISTORY OP THE
proclamation of neutrality. Soon after his arrival,
Genet strengthened his interests with the republican
paity by espousing the daughter of its leader, Governor
Clinton ; the marriage ceremony being performed at the
Walton House in Pearl street.
The conduct of the French minister excit§d the indig-
nation of the President and Congress, who ordered the
captured prizes to be restored, and remonstrated with
Genet against his contempt of their authority. Sus-
tained by the powerful repubUcan party, the ambassador
openly justified his conduct ; and his correspondence at
length grew so oflFensive, that even JeflFerson and Ran-
dolph, who had hitherto defended him, joined with the
opposite party in demanding his recall. Before the
letter reached France, a great change had been wrought
in the aflFairs of the republic. The Girondins, the
friends of Genet, had fallen from power, the Reign of
Terror, under the leadership of Robespierre, had com-
menced, and the Jacobins, now the dominant party,
made no difficulty in conceding the President's request.
Genet was formally recalled from the ministry, and
Citizen Fauchet appointed in his place, with instructions
to approve the proclamation of neutrahty. Genet
remained in the United States, and died at an advanced
age at his residence on Long Island. His sons still con-
tinue residents of the city.
The subsequent tragedies of the Reign of Terror
destroyed much of the popular sympathy with the
French republic. America became the refuge of the
6migr^s, and this immense influx of foreign immigration
wrought a visible change in the character of the people.
I
CITY OF NEW YORK. 609
In New York, where the exiles mostly congregated, was
this change most of all apparent. French manners,
French customs, French cookery, French furniture,
French fashions, and the French language, came sud-
denly in vogue, and for a season, New York seemed
transformed into Paris. Another element was added to
make up the cosmopoUtan character of the city. It had
been essentially Dutch and essentially English ; it now
became essentially French ; and when the downfall of
Robespierre recalled the exiles to their homes, and the
city was vacated as suddenly as it had been filled, it still
retained the impress of the invasion ; nor has it ever
been wholly effaced, as all will acknowledge who have
observed how much more predominant is the French
element in this than in the other northern cities.
In the summer of 1795, John Jay, the newly-elected
federal governor of New York, arrived from England
with a new treaty ; rendered necessary by the repeated
violations of the first, alleged by each nation against the
other. The provisions of this treaty, which bound the
United States to a strict neutrality in all wars between
England and other nations, were denounced by the anti-
federalist or republican party, as it had now come to
be called, as a shameful repudiation of the obligations
due by the country to France, and the most strenuous
efibrts were used to induce the President to refuse its
ratification. In New York, the federalists were stronger
in wealth — ^the republicans, in numbers. In the charter
elections from 1783 to 1803, the federalists almost imi-
formly carried six out of the seven wards of the city ;
yet a large proportion of the inhabitants were non-
39
CIO BISTORT OF THB
voters, deprived of the elective firanchise by the property
qualification, and many of these belonged to the repub-
lican party. This faction had sympathized warmly with
Genet in his eflforts to provoke a new war with England,
insisting that the United States stood pledged by honor
to return the aid extended her in the Revolution, and to
take up arms in defence of the new republic.
No sooner had the new treaty become publicly
known, than a mass meeting of the republicans was
held in Boston, the treaty denounced as dishonorable
and disadvantageous, and a committee appointed to
state objections in an address to the President. A few
days after, an anonymous handbill appeared in the
streets of New York, calling on the citizens to meet in
front of the City Hall on the 18th of July, to join with
the Bostonians in expressing their opposition to the
treaty. This was instantly met by a gathering of the
federalists, who resolved to attend the meeting en masse,
to present both sides of the question to the people.
On the day appointed, an immense concourse assem-
bled in front of the City Hall. Aaron Burr and Brock-
hoist Livingston, the brother-in-law of Jay, who, with
Chancellor Livingston and the rest of that influential
family, had espoused the cause of the Republican party,
appeared as the leaders of the opposition ; Alexander
Hamilton and Richard Varick stood for the federalists
and the treaty. The latter party at first took the lead,
and succeeded in electing a chairman from among their
number ; then proposed at once to adjourn the meeting.
This proposal, of course, was opposed by the republicans,
as making of the whole thing a farce, and defeating the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 611
purpose of the meeting. A motion was made to leave
the matter to the decision of the President and Senate,
and, the question being taken, both sides claimed the
majority. A scene of violence ensued. Hamilton
mounted the stoop of an old Dutch house which stood
on the corner of Wall and Broad streets, with its gable
end to the street, and attempted to speak in defence of
the treaty, when he was rudely thrown from his place,
and dragged through the streets by the excited multitude.
A motion was made to appoint a committee of fifteen to
report three days after, and a list of names was read
and pronounced carried. The tumult soon increased to
such a degree, that business became out of the question.
** All you who agree to adjourn to the Bowling Green,
** and burn the British treaty, will say Aye," shouted
some one from among the mass. The thunder of the
** Ayes" shook the watch-house on the south comer of
Broad and Wall streets to its foundation, and the turbu-
lent opposition ran, shouting and huzzaing, to the Bowl-
ing Green, when the treaty was burned to the sound of
the Carmagnole, beneath the folds of the French and the
American colors. At the adjourned meeting, which was
attended chiefly by the republicans, twenty-eight reso-
lutions, condemnatory of the treaty, were reported by
the committee, and unanimously accepted. The follow-
ing day, a series of counter resolutions was adopted by
the Chamber of Commerce, at this time composed almost
exclusively of federalists, and on the 14th of August,
the treaty was finally ratified by the Senate and signed
by Washington.
In the autumn of 1791, the yellow fever broke out in
612 HISTORY OP THE
the vicinity of Burling Slip. Though soon checked in
its ravages by the approach of frost, it excited a panic
among the inhabitants, and cut down several well known
citizens, among others, General Malcolm of the Revo-
lution. In 1795, it again made its appearance, about the
first of August, and raged with vuulence during the
remainder of the season, carrying oflF seven himdred and
thirty-five of the citizens. But these visits were but the
precursors of the coming pestilence. About the last of
July, 1798, it again broke out with increased violence,
heightened perhaps by the general alarm which at once
diflfused itself among the people. The whole community
was infected with the panic, all who could fled the city,
the stores were closed, the business streets deserted, and
for many weeks the hearses that conveyed the victims
of the pestilence to their last homes were undisputed
possessors of the streets of the city. Most of the churches
were closed ; Trinity, Christ's Church in Ann street, and
the Methodist Chapel in John street alone remaining
open. The Post-office was removed to the house of
Dr. James Tillary on the corner of Broadway and Wall
street, and the citizens came down for their letters from
their retreats at Greenwich and Bloomingdale between
the hours of 9 a.m. and sundown, the time at which the
•physicians pronounced it safe to visit the city. The
greatest suffering prevailed, and contributions of money,
provisions, and fuel poured in from the neighboring
States for the relief of the poor, thus deprived of em-
ployment, and hourly threatened with the death from
which their poverty forbade them to flee. From the
breaking out of the pestilence to the beginning of Xovcni-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 613
ber, when it ceased, the deaths amounted to 2,086,
exclusive of those who had fled the city ; and this from
a population of fifty-five thousand. Strangely enough,
not a single case occurred on the Long Island or Jersey
shores. The fever lingered in the city for several years,
breaking out with violence at intervals, yet at no time
did its ravages equal those of '98.
The contests between the federalists and republicans in
the charter elections increased in violence, and the federal-
ists began gradually to lose ground. In the election of
1800, the Sixth and Seventh Wards were carried by the
republican party, and, elated by their success, the victors
put forth renewed efforts in the election of the following
year. To evade the property qualification, requiring
every voter to be a landholder, an association of thirty-
three young men purchased a house and lot in the Fifth
Ward, jointly on the principle of a tontine, and having
tJius rendered themselves eligible according to law, pre-
sented themselves at the polls as republican voters.*
The same scheme was adopted in the Fourth Ward by
a club of seventy-one members. The election returns
showed four wards for the republicans, and three for the
federalists ; the Fifth Ward being carried in favor of the
* The names of many of the members of this early Tontine Association after*
wards became prominent in the politics of the State. They were as follows: Joshua
Barker, S, Tiebout, A. Macready, Peter Black, Tenios Wortman, George I. Eacher,
Daniel D. Tompkins, Richard Riker, Thomas Hertell, Edmund Ferris, Arthur Smith,
WHliam Boyd, William A. Dayis, William Jones, Edmund Holmes, William P. Van
Ness, John Sonnelle, Jas. W. Lent, Cornelius G. Van Allen, Jno. W. Woolf, Robert
L liTingston, John Jagger, Jas. Warner, Robert Swartwout, John L. Broome,
David Thompson, Joseph Brown, Samuel Lawrence, Gideon Eimberley, Henry Post,
Gordon S. Mumford, Maltby Gelston, John Drake.
614 HISTORT OF THE
former by a majority of six, and the Fourth Ward by
thirty-five. This result was at once contested by the fed-
eralists on the ground of illegal voting by the Tontine
Association, and, being submitted to the decision of the
retiring board, the majority of which belonged to that
party, was pronounced null and void and the balance of
power restored to the hands of the federalists. The State
election having been decided in favor of the repubhcans
by the election of ex-Governor George Clhiton, Edward
Livingston, the brother of the well-known chancellor
of that name, received the appointment of mayor of New
York.
CHAPTER XIX.
1801.
New York in the beginning of the Nineteenth Oentmry.
At this time, the city, though the metropolis of the
western world, was a mere village in comparison with
the city of to-day. The city proper was bounded on
Broadway by Anthony, on the North River by Harrison,
and on the East River by Rutgers streets ; and even
within these limits, the houses were scattering, and sur-
rounded by large gardens and vacant lots. The farm-
houses on Bowery Lane extended as far as Broome
street ; the fields and orchards on either side reaching
from river to river. From the Battery to Cedar street,
Greenwich street was the outside street on the shore ;
there, Washington street had been commenced and
partly built upon one side to Harrison street, where it
terminated abruptly in the river.
Above Broadway was a hilly country, sloping on the
east to the Fresh Water Pond, not yet quite filled in from
the surrounding hills, and descending on the west to
the Lispenard Meadows ; dotted with the picturesque
country seats of wealthy citizens. Of the high hill at
the junction of Broadway with Anthony street we have
615
616 HISTORY OP THB
already spoken. This descended precipitously to the
arched bridge at Canal street, thus forming a valley, to
the north of which rose another high hill, falling oflF
abruptly to a pond in the space between Broome and
Spring streets, through which Broadway was filled up
and prolonged.
At this time, Broadway ended at Astor Place, where
a pale fence, stretching across the road, formed the
southern boundary of the Randall Farm, afterward the
endowment of the Sailor's Snug Harbor. The Old or
Boston Post Road ran eastward, from Madison Square
along the Rose Hill Farm,* by turri the property of Watts,
Cruger, and General Gates, and wound its way by a cir-
cuitous route to Harlem ; while the Middle Road, begin-
ning m the Old Road near the entrance of the farm,
aflForded a direct avenue to the same village. The Kings-
bridge or Bloomingdale Road, a continuation of the
Bowery Lane, formed a junction with the Fitzroy and
the Southampton Roads, and extended by the way of
McGowan^s Pass and Manhattanville to Kingsbridge,
whence it continued to Albany. From the Bloomingdale
Road, Love Lane, now Twenty-first street ran westward
to the North River.
On the site of Washington Square was the new
Potter's Field, lately removed from its original locality
at the junction of the Greenwich and Albany roads,
where it had been established in 1794, and which was
deemed too near the public thoroughfares by the city
authorities, by whom Washmgton Square was selected on
* Thia fitrm covered some twentv-five blocks of groand in the Eighteenth Ward,
and was the property of John Watts prior to the ReYolution.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 617
account of its retired location. The property owners in
the vicinity of the latter protested strongly against the
change, and even offered to present a piece of ground in
another part of the city to the corporation, but the ^,
officials remained firm, and for many years the marsh in
question continued to be used as a pauper burial-ground.
The negro burial groimd was at the comer of Broadway
and Chambers street, on the site now occupied by Stuart's
marble building. The churches, too, had their respective
cemeteries, for it was not until 1813 that burials were
first prohibited in the city below Canal street.
Public gardens were at this time favorite institutions,
and were scattered in profusion over the city. On the
shores of the North River in the village of Greenwich
were the Indian Queen's and Tyler's, both favorite places
of resort. On the west side of the Bowery in the vicinity
of Broome street, was the celebrated Vauxhall Garden —
not the original Bowling Green Garden, afterwards
Vauxhall, at the junction of Warren and Greenwich
streets, the resort of the early Dutch settlers — ^which had
been purchased about the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury by a Swiss florist named Jacob Sperry, and after-
wards sold by him to John Jacob Astor, who leased it
to a Frenchman by the name of Delacroix, the proprietor
at the time of which we are speaking. Far up on the
Bloomingdale road was the Strawberry Hill House, after-
wards christened Woodlawn; and on the eastern side of the
island was the fertile Kip Farm, which, though not num-
bered among the places of public resort, was noted for its
variety of choice fruit and flowers, and was often visited by
Washington and his cabinet during his stay in the city.
618 HISTOEY OF THE
On the hill at the junction of Broad wa^y ^nd AntJbony
streets, was a frame house with a brick front, which re-
tained its place until a few years since, and is probably
remembered by many of our readers. On the east of
this hill was the country seat of Colonel Barclay.
Above, on the Bowery nearly opposite Bond street, was
the residence of Andrew Morris, in the vicinity of which,
on the comer of Third street, stood the Minthome man-
sion. To the west, above Bleecker street, were the seats
of John Jacob Astor and William Neilson, and in Laight
street, just above St. John's Park, was the residence of
Leonard Lispenard. At the northwest on the corner of
Varick and Charlton streets was the celebrated Richmond
Hill Mansion, built in 1770 by the British paymaster,
Abraham Mortier, on grounds leased from Trinity Church,
and occupied by Washington as his head-quarters during
the Revolution. After the surrender of the city to the
British, it became the residence of Sir Guy Carleton, after-
ward Lord Dorchester. It subsequently became the
property of Aaron Burr, and was his residence at the
time of his fatal duel with Hamilton, and it was here
that he was found by Dr. Hosack a few hours after,
calmly reading the Confessions of Rousseau in his bath,
as if totally oblivious of the fatal tragedy. From his
hands, it passed into the possession of John Jacob
Astor, who converted it into the Richmond Hill theatre.
On the block bounded by Fourth, Bleecker, Perry and
Charles streets, wafi the now venerable Van Ness
House, then owned by Abijah Hammond. These
grounds originally formed a part of the extensive farm
of Sir Peter Warren, the brother-in-law of James and
CITY OF NEW YORK. 619
Oliver De Lancey, whose son-in-law, the Earl of Abing-
don, disposed of his share, consisting of fifty-five acres, in
1788 to David H. MaUen for the sum of twenty-two
hundred dollars. From his hands, it passed into the
possession of Mr. Hammond, and was soon after dis-
posed of to Whitehead Pish, who resided on it until his
death in 1819, when it was purchased by Abraham Van
Ness, its present proprietor, for fifteen thousand dollars.
On the block of ground between the Ninth and Tenth
Avenues, and Twenty-second and Twenty-third streets,
stood the old Chelsea House, built before the Revolution
by the widow of Thomas Clarke, one of the veterans of
the old French war, who had purchased the estate a
short time before hia death, and named it Chelsea as the
retreat of an old soldier. This subsequently became the
residence of Bishop Moore of Columbia College, and
was afterwards donated by him to his son, Clement C.
Moore, who continued to reside in it until the levelling
the grounds about it compelled its demolition.
At Incleuberg, now Murray Hill, near the junction of
Fourth and Sizth Avenues, between Thirty-sixth and
Fortieth streets, was the residence of Robert Murray,
the father of the grammarian, notable for having been
the place where the worthy Quaker matron, by her
cordial hospitality, detained the British generals long
enough on the day of the capture of the city to secure
to Silliman's brigade a safe retreat to Harlem, In the
neighborhood, nearly opposite on the Bloomingdale
road, was the Varian House, and higher up at Blooming-
dale was the Apthorpe Mansion, now owned by Colonel
Thome, where Washington narrowly escaped capture on
620
HISTORY OF TUE
Karray mil Cottage.
the same eventful day, while anxiously awaiting tho
arrival of his troops from the city ; and also the
Grange, the residence of Alexander Hamilton. On the
shores of the East River, near Turtle Bay, stood the
celebrated Beekman House, built by Dr. James
Beekman in 1764, and occupied in turn by the British
commanders-in-chief as a country seat during the Revo-
lution.* Here, the unfortunate Nathan Hale was tried
* The fine atuation and extensile ground of this house made it a favorite rea-
dence of the British officers. During the Revolution, it was occupied from the 16th
of September, 1776, by General Howe, seven and a half months ; from the 1st of
Hay, 1777, by Commissary Loring, one year and five months; from the 20th of
October, 1778, by General Clinton, three years and ox months ; from the 1st of
May, 1782, by General Robertson, eleven and a half months ; from the 16th of
April, 1783, by Hr. Beekman ; and from the 16th of June, 1788, to the evacuation
by General Carleton, five months ; in the whole, seven years, one and a half months.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 621
and sentenced to death, and confined in the greenhouse
of the garden on the night preceding his execution.
Near this, on the banks of the river, was the ancient
Cruger Mansion, now tenanted by General Gates, and
known as the rendezvous of the leading spirits of the
day.
On the shores of the Harlem River, just below the
High Bridge of the Croton Aqueduct, stood Colonel
Roger Morris' House, a large, old-fashioned, two story
building, commanding a fine view of the river from its
elevated position, which had been the headquarters of
Washington after his forced evacuation of the city. The
old house is still standing, now known as the residence
of Madame Jumel.
On the block bounded by Montgomery, Clinton,
Cherry and Monroe streets was the old Belvidere House,
built by an English nobleman of that name long before
the commencement of the Revolutionary War, and used
for many years afterward as a place of public resort ;
and near this, in the vicinity of Cherry street, was the
residence of Colonel Rutgers, with the cottage of Marinus
Willett in close proximity.*
In Pearl, opposite Cedar street, was the residence of
Gov. George Clinton, the headquarters of Washington
on assuming the command of the army at New York.
Further down on the corner of Pearl and Broad streets,
was the well-known Fraunces' Tavern, the headquarters
of Washington after the evacuation of the city by the
British troops, and the scene of his final parting with his
oflBcers. This house was built about 1730 by the
De Lancey family, an ! was sold by Oliver De Lancey, in
* See Appendix, Note 0.
622 HISTORY OF THE
1762, to Samuel Fraunces, who soon after opened it as a
public tavern. It soon became notable as a Saturday
night rendezvous of a gathering of choice spirits calling
themselves the Social Club, and, though Fraunces was a
well-known friend of the Liberty Party, was a favorite
of both Whigs and Tories, who haimonized in their taste
for the choice wines of the proprietor.
At the lower end of Broadway stood the Kennedy
House, now the Washington Hotel, built in 1760
by Captain Kennedy, afterward Earl of Cassilis, and
bequeathed by him to his son Robert, from whom it
passed into the possession of the late Nathaniel Prime.
This house was the headquarters of Putnam prior to, and
of Howe and Clinton during the Revolutionary War,
and the scene of Andr&'s last interview with the British
general previous to his departure on the fatal West
Point mission. Just above this was the King's Arms
Tavern, a double house, two stories in height, with a
front of yellow Holland brick, and a steep roof, covered
with shingles in front and tiles in the rear, the headquar-
ters of General Gage during his residence in the city.
This afterwards became known as Burns' Coflfee House,
the well-known rendezvous of the Sons of Liberty, and the
place from which emanated many of the patriotic resolves
of the New York citizens. It was in this house that the
first non-importation agreement of the colonies was signed
by the merchants of the city of New York on the even-
ing preceding the execution of the Stamp Act, and the
first step thus taken toward the rebellion which ripened
into their future independence. Here Arnold resided
after the discovery of his treason, and it was from the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 623
garden, which extended down to the river, that the chi-
vabric Champe proposed to abduct the traitor and carry
him off in triumph to the American lines in the Jerseys.
Above this, on the site of 39 Broadway — the reputed
site of the first building ever erected on the island — was
the Bunker Mansion House, the residence of Washing-
ton during the second session of Congress.
But a volume would scarce suffice to note all the land-
marks, rendered interesting by some association of the
past.
The penal institutions of the island were the New Jail,*
chiefly used for the imprisonment of debtors ; the
Bridewell, in which vagrants and minor offenders were
confined, as well as criminals, while awaiting their trial,
and the State Prison in Greenwich village on the shores
of the North River, fbr convicts of a higher grade. The
latter was.^a large stone building, surrounded by a high
wall on which an armed sentry was constantly pacing.
It was opened for the reception of convicts in August,
1796, and was the second State Prison in the United
States. In the course of a few years, the number of
prisoners in this institution, as well as in the Bridewell,
became so great that it became necessary to erect
another building for their reception, and a Penitentiary
for the imprisonment of minor offenders was accordingly
built on the shores of the East River at Bellevue. This
* The first building used fbr a JaU was on the comer of Book street and Ooen-
ties Slip. After the erection of the City Hall in Wall street, the criminals were
confined in dongeons in the cellar, while the debtors were imprisoned in the attic
apartments, fh>m the dormer-windows of which they used to hang out old shoes and
bags to solicit alms of the passers bj.
624 HISTORY OP THE
institution, which was opened on the 16th of May, 1816,
was a stone building, one hundred and fifty fegt in length
by fifty in breadth, and three stories high. In close
proximity to it stood the New Alms House, opened in
the spring of the same year ; a blue stone building,
three hundred and twenty-five feet in front, with two wings
of a hundred and fifty feet in depth each. In 1826, the
Bellevue Hospital was built near by, and the three build-
ings, inclosed by a stone wall, including twenty-six
acres, were known henceforth as the Bellevue Establish-
ment. The criminals in these institutions were set to
work for the benefit of the State at breaking stone,
picking oakum, etc. Through the efibrts of Stephen
Allen, then mayor of the city, and others, the tread-mill
system was introduced into the Penitentiary in 1822,
but after a few years' trial, was found inexpedient and
abandoned. Upon the opening of the new State Prison
at Sing Sing in 1828, the convicts were removed to it
from the prison at Greenwich, and their places supplied
by the prisoners from the Bridewell and the New JaiL
In 1838, the Bridewell was demolished, and the stone of
which it was composed was worked up into the Tombs,
then in process of erection. The New Jail had some
time previously been transformed into the modern Hall
of Records. When this change was made, the fire alarm
bell, which had hung in the belfry during the Revolution,
was taken down and placed upon the Bridewell, where
it remained until the demolition of the latter. A cher-
ished relic of the firemen, it was then transferred to the
engine house of the Naiad Hose Co., in Beaver street,
where it remained until it rung out its own funeral kneU
CITY OF NEW YORK. 625
for the great fire of 1835, which swept it to the ground
and destroyed it forever.
In 1825, the penal institutions of the city were
increased by the establishment of a House of RefUge
for juvenile offenders, which was founded under the
auspices of the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile
Delinquents, an outgrowth from the Society for the Pre-
vention of Pauperism, organized in 1818 by a number
of the prominent philanthropists of the city. The House
of Refuge was incorporated in 1824, and opened on the
1st of January, 1825, in the United States Arsenal in
Madison Square, with nine inmates — six boys and three
girls. On the destruction of the building by fire in 1839,
the institution, now grown into considerable impor-
tance, was transferred to the fever hospital at the foot of
Twenty- third street on the Bast River, where it remained
for. fifteen years, when, its increasing wants demanding
enlarged accommodations, the present institution was
erected on Randall's Island, and the inmates removed to
it in 1854.*
In 1801, the New York Hospital, the charter of which
had been granted by Lord Dunmore, in 1771, to Peter
Middleton, John Jones, and Samuel Bard, the three most
eminent physicians of the day, and the corner stone of
which had been laid in 1773, by Governor Tryon, was
the only institution of the kind in the city. This build-
ing, which had been almost consumed by fire before its
completion, then transformed into barracks for the
British troops during the Revolutionary War, was
* For manr of tlicKo detaOa we are indebted to Israel Rossell, Esq.
40
\
i
626
HISTORY OF THE
enlarged and repaired after the restoration of peace,
and opened for the reception of patients in 1791. In
The TomlNk
1807, a Lunatic Asylum was erected on the southerly
side of the Hospital grounds, near the main edifice, and
corresponding with it in the style of architecture, which
was opened in the following year. This was used for its
original purpose during fourteen years, when an asylum
was built at Bloomingdale, overlooking the North River,
on the west side of Tenth Avenue, near One Hundred
and Seventeenth street, to which, in 1821, the patients
were removed. The single dispensary for the aid
of the out-door sick was the City Dispensary, located in
a small building in the rear of the City Hall, fronting on
Tryon Row, which had formerly been occupied by the
Health office. This was instituted in 1790, and incorpo-
rated on the 8th of April, 1795, under the name of the
New York Dispensary.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 627
The only medical school in the city in the beginning
of the nineteenth century was the Medical Faculty of
Columbia College, organized in 1768 through the efforts
of Drs. Bard, Middleton and others. In the Revolution,
which followed soon after, the association was scattered
and the college converted into a military hospital. In
1792, it was again revived, with Dr. Samuel Bard as
dean of the faculty, and remained the only school of the
kind in the city until the institution of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, with Dr. Romayne at the head,
in 1807, under the patronage of the Regents of the Uni-
versity. In 1813, a fusion was effected between the two
rival schools, who continued to work together until 1826,
when differences arose, which finally resulted in a sepa-
ration of the college, and the foundation of the Rutgers
Medical College, located in Duane street near Broad-
way, with Drs. Hosack, MacNeven, Mott, Francis,
Godman and Griscom as its first professors. Drs. John
Augustine and Joseph M. Smith, Dana, Beck, Stevens,
and Delafield formed the professorial staff of the rival
college.
At the foot of Park Place, was the venerable Colum-
bia College, opened in 1755 under the presidency of
the Rev. Samuel Johnsoii ; then abandoned by its presi-
dent, Myles Cooper, in the Revolution, and converted
first into barracks and afterward into a military hos-
pital. Upon the restoration of peace, a number of
gentlemen were appointed by the Legislature, under the
title of Regents of the University, to superintend the
literary institutions of the State, and empowered to
act as Trustees of the College. In 1787, the institu-
628
HISyORY OF THE
tion was reorganized, the royal charter confirmed by
the legislature, and William Samuel Johnson, LL.D.,
appointed first president under the new regime. In
1801, he was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Wharton,
who resigned the office a few months after, when it was
bestowed upon Bishop Moore, who had acted as presi-
dent j9ro tern, in 1775, during the absence of Cooper.
-,.-->1*''-*T''*^'
Colambia College at the foot of Park Place.
The benevolent institutions were the Marine Society,
incorporated in 1770, for the improvement of maritime
CITY OP NEW YORK. 629
knowledge, and the relief of indigent sea-captains, their
widows and orphans ; the Chamber of Commerce, formed
in 1768 and incorporated in 1770, "for the purpose of
** promoting and extending all just and lawful commerce
** and for affording relief to decayed members, their
'* widows and children;" the Humane Society, estab-
lished in 1787, for the purpose of affording relief to dis-
tressed debtors, and afterward extended so as to include
the resuscitation of persons apparently drowned, as well
as the relief of the poor in general, and incorporated in
1814 ; the Manumission Society, established chiefly by
Friends in 1785 for the purpose of ameliorating the con-
dition of negro slaves throughout the State and bestow-
ing upon them an education, and incorporated in 1808 ;
the Sailor's Snug-Harbor, founded by Captain Randall
in 1801 for the benefit of worn out and decrepit seamen,
and the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen,
formed in 1784, and incorporated in 1792, for the relief
of the necessitous among their number, and for the sup-
port of the widows and children of those who might die
in indigent circumstances. In 1821, the Mechanics'
Institute in Chambers street between Chatham street and
City Hall Place was built by the Society, and a school
and library established for the education of its proteges.
Besides the societies which we have mentioned, were the
Society of the Cincinnati, founded at the close of the war
by the patriots who, like their Roman namesake, had
relinquished the sword for the plough, for purposes of
general benevolence, and into which none but Revolu-
tionary soldiers and their descendants were admitted :
the Tammany Society or Columbian Order, founded
630 HISTORY OF THE
nearly at the same time, into which, in opposition to the
exclusiveness of the former, all were admitted without
regard to ancestry ; the St. Andrew's Society, founded
in 1756, and several masonic and other societies.
Among the most remarkable of these was the Tontine
Association,* founded in 1790 and incorporated in 1794
by a company of merchants for the purpose of providing
a centre for the mercantile community. By the plan of
this association, each shareholder selected a nominee,
during whose life he was to receive his equal proportion
of the net proceeds of the establishment ; but upon
whose death his interest reverted to the owners of the
surviving nominees. The original shares were assign-
able and held as personal estate, and the whole property
was vested in five trustees, who were to hold the pro-
perty until the number of the surviving nominees was
reduced to seven, when the whole was to be divided
among the fortunate seven shareholders depending upon
them. Under these regulations, two hundred and three
shares were subscribed for at two hundred dollars each,
and with this sum the Association purchased a lot of
ground a hundred feet square on the corner of Wall and
Water streets, and in 1792 commenced the erection of
the Tontine CoflFee-House, to which, upon its completion
in 1794, the Merchant's Exchange was removed from
the dilapidated old building in the centre of Broad below
* The i^an of this Association originated from the scheme of Lormto Tooti, t
Neapolitan, who introdnoed a similar scheme into France in 1658, daring the rdgn
of Louis XTV. ; whence the word Tontine came to designate a loan adranced bj a
number of associated capitalists for life annuities with the benefit of surTiyorship. —
See Valentine's Manual for 1852.
CITY OF NEW YORK
63]
The Bible Honsef in Eighth Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues.
Pearl street where it had been located since the Revolu-
tion. After the erection of the new Exchange in Wall
street, in 1825, the building was let for various pur-?
poses ; then, in May, 1855, was demolished to make
room for the present Tontine Building.
Many other societies sprang into being in the course
of the next half century — the Bible and Common Prayer
Book Society, instituted in 1809 ; the Protestant Epis-
copal Tract Society, founded in 1810, and the American
Bible Society, established in 1816. Next came the
various Missionary Societies — the New York Sunday
School Society, established in 1816 — the outgrowth of a
632 HISTORY OF THE
little Sunday School opened in 1811 by a few young
women of the Society of Friends for the purpose of
teaching adult colored women ; the American Tract
Society, instituted in 1825, the City Tract Society,
founded during the ensuing year, and many more' beside.
The Reformed Dutch Church still continued predomi-
nant in the city which had been founded by its members.
This was, indeed, the oldest denomination in America,
having been organized in New Amsterdam with a hand-
ful of members as early as 1620. For a long time, the
church continued to retain its distinctive customs and
even language ; the first English sermon ever listened to
by the denomination having been delivered as lately as
1764 by Dr. Laidlie in the Middle Dutch Church in Nas-
sau street. Even at this late date, the innovation of a
foreign tongue was stoutly opposed by the ancient
Knickerbockers, but was sanctioned by the Consistory
as a matter of policy — the only means whereby they
could restrain the younger members of their congrega-
tions, who had well-nigh forgotten the language of their
sires, from straying oflf to listen to the more familiar
English tongue as preached in the churches of other
denominations. Laidlie, invited to become the English
colleague of Domines Ritzma and De Ronde, at that time
the officiating ministers of the South and Middle Dutch
Churches, at once opened a crusade against the dances
and merry holiday amusements which had come down
from the genial times of the early settlers, and did much
toward infusing the spirit of English asceticism among
the descendants of the jovial sires of New Amsterdam.
All the ministers who succeeded him preached in English
CITY OP NEW YORK. 633
only, with the exception of Dr. Livingston and Dr. Kuy-
pers, the latter of whom preached for many years in •
both languages. The last sermon in the Dutch lan-
guage was preached in 1803.
The customs that prevailed in the Reformed Dutch
churches were, indeed, peculiar ; many of them still
exist among the denomination, nor are the traditions of
any wholly lost. Unlike the plainly attired Puritan
preachers, the domines invariably appeared in the high,
circular pulpit, dad in a gown of black silk, with large,
flowing sleeves ; and so indispensable was this livery
deemed, that, at the installation of a domine in the
beginning of the nineteenth century, who came unpre-
pared with a gown for the occasion, the senior clergy-
man peremptorily refused to officiate, and the ceremony
would have been postponed for a week, had not a robe
been opportunely fiirnished by a friendly minister.
The tall pulpit was canopied by a ponderous sound-
ing-board. The first psalm was jset with movable
figures, suspended on three sides of the pulpit, so that
every one on entering might prepare for the opening
chorus. Pews were set aside for the governor, mayor,
city officers, and deacons, and the remaining seats were
held singly by the members for their life, then booked,
at their death, to the first applicant. The clerk occupied
a place in the deacon's pew, and prefaced the exercises in
the morning by reading a chapter from the Bible, and,
in the afternoon, by chanting the Apostolic Creed, to
divert the thoughts of the people from worldly aflFairs.
All notices designed to be publicly read were received
by him from the sexton, then inserted into the end of a
634 HISTORY OF THE
long pole, aud thus passed up to the cage-like pulpit,
where the minister was perched far above the heads uf
the congregation. It was his business, too, when tlie
last grains of sand had fallen from the hour-glass which
was placed invariably at the right hand of the domine, to
remind him by three raps with his cane that the time
had come for the end of the sermon. A story is told of
a domine who, one hot simimer's day, seeing the clerk
asleep and the people drowsy, quietly turned the
glass himself, and, after seeing the sands run out for the
second time, remarked to the congregation that, since
they had been patient in sitting through two glasses, he
would how proceed with the third.
Before entering the pulpit, the domine raised his hat
before his face, and silently offered a short prayer for a
blessing on his labors. After uttering the concluding
word of his text, he exclaimed, Thtis far ! before pro-
ceeding with his sermon. This custom is preserved to
this day in some of the coimtry churches.
When the sermon was over, the deacons rose in their
places, and, after listening to a short address from the
domine, took each a long pole with a black velvet bag
attached to the end, from which a small alarm-bell was
suspended, and passed about the church to collect alms
for the poor. One of the bells used in the old Dutch
church in Garden street, is still preserved in the office
of the Christian Intelligencer^ the present organ of the
denomination in the city. In the earlier times, boxes
strongly bound with iron, with a hole in the lid, which
was fastened by a padlock, were placed at the door to
receive the alms of the congregation on their exit.
CITY OF NEW YORK.
635
Dr. HacanleT'B Chnrchf Corner of Fifth Avenac and Twenty-first Street
CITY OF NEW YORK. 637
At the Lord's supper, the communicants, invariably
dressed in black, stood round the communion-table at
the foot of the pulpit, and received the emblems from
the minister's own hands, while the clerk read a suitable
selection from the Scriptures. The stone church built
by William Kieft in 1642 having been destroyed by fire
in the days of the negro plot, the oldest church edifice
of this denomination at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, was the South Dutch Church in Garden street.
This was of an octagonal form, with a brick steeple large
enough to afford space for a consistory room. The
windows were large, with very small window-panes set
in lead, and curiously emblazoned with the coats of arms
of the church dignitaries ; several escutcheons also hung
against the wall. In 1766, it was enlarged and repaired,
but at the time of which we speak, it was not • open for
service. In 1807, it was rebuilt and repaired ; then
destroyed in the conflagration of 1835 ; when two con-
gregations arose from its ashes, Dr. Button's church on
Washington Square, and the South Reformed Dutch
Church on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-first
street, under the care of Dr. Macauley.
In Nassau street was the Middle Dutch Church, now
known as the Post-ofl&ce. This was at first built with-
out pillars or gallery ; the ceiling forming an entire arch
without support. On the introduction of the EngUsh
service in 1784, the pulpit was removed from its original
place on the east side to the north end of the church,
and galleries were built on the east, west and ipouth
sides. Of its use while the city was in the hands of the
British, we have 'already spoken ; in 1789-90, it was
638 HISTORY OF THE
restored to its primitive state, and continued unaltered
until 1844, when it was purchased by the United States.
On the Sunday evening before its final surrender by the
congregation, the old building was thronged to its
utmost capacity by those anxious to take a last leave of
this relic of the olden times. The farewell exercises
were conducted in Dutch and English by Drs. Knox and
De Witt, a sermon was preached, a historical sketch of
the structure given, a psalm sung, and the benediction
pronounced — ^the last words of prayer that were uttered
in the old building, being spoken in the language of the
ancient Knickerbockers.*
In William street was the North Dutch Church, a sub-
stantial building of brown stone, one hundred feet long by
twenty wide, built originally with a tiled roof, for which
* The bell of this church stil! sammons the congregation of the Refonned Batch
Church in Lafajette Place, and has a curious history. It was presented to the
church bj OoL Abraham be Pejster, who died in 1728, whUe the edifice was in
the process of erection, and directed in his will that the bell should be procured
from Holland at his expense. It was made at Amsterdam in 1781, and it b said
that a number of citizens cast in quantities of silrer coin at the fhsing of the metaL
When, in 1776, the church was converted into a riding-echool for the British dra-
goons, the bell was taken down by one of the De Peyster family, and secreted until
some years after the evacuation of the city ; when the church was repaired and
opened agdn for service, and the bell restored to its rightfiil portion. Upon the
transformation of the church into the Post-office in 1844, it was removed to the
church in Ninth street near Broadway, where it remained until 1865, when Uie
building changed hands, and the bell was removed to the church in Lafkyette
Place. The bell is fancifully gilt, and bears the inscription: "He fecarunt
*' De Oravtt et K. Muller, Amsterdam, Anno 1781.
** Abraham De Peyster, geboren den 8 July, 1667, gestorven den 8 Augustus,
" 1728. Ben legal aan de Kederduytsche Eerke, New Tork. (A legacy to the Low
** Dutch Church at New Tork).^ The silver baptismal basin procured for the Garden
street church in 1793, is still used in the South Reformed Dutch Church in Fifth
Avenue.
1
CITY OP NEW YORK.
639
Reformed Dutch Church in Lafayette Place.
CITY OF NEW YORK.
641
*^^foniied Dutch Charch, Comer of Fifth Ayenae and Twenty-ninth StreeL
41
CITY OF NEW YORK. 643
shingles were afterwards substituted. This still con-
tinues as one of the landmarks of the city. At Harlem
was a small wooden church of great antiquity, and at
Greenwich village was another, built also of wood in
1782, and afterward enlarged. Drs. Livingston, Kuypers
and Abeel were at this time the pastors of the Reformed
Dutch churches of the city, consolidated under the title
of the Collegiate Church of New York.*
The Episcopalian, the next oldest religious denomina-
tion, introduced soon after the cession of the city to the
English, had at this time seven churches. Of these, the
ancient Trinity, built in 1696, enlarged in 1737, burnt
down in 1776, and rebuilt in 1788, was a Q-othic edifice
of considerable pretensions, surmounted by a tall spire,
and furnished with a fine chime of bells, some of which
still sound in the ears of our citizens. To this church
two chapels were attached — a third was afterward added
by the erection of St. John's in 1807 — St. Paul's in
Broadway, a substantial stone edifice, built in 1766 ;
and St. George's in Beekman street, built in 1759 ; of
these the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore was rector, with
the Rev. Drs. Hobart and Beach as assistant ministers.
In Ann street was Christ Church, a stone edifice, built
in 1794, now under the care of the Rev. Dr. Lyell ;
* Although many independent congregations of the Beformed Dutch Church have
since been formed, the Collegiate Church still exists — the mother church of the
denomination in New York and the oldest ecclesiastijal organization in the country.
Though still considered as a single church, and goremed bj one Consistory, it has
at present four places of worship — the North Dutch Church in Fulton street, the
Ninth street church, the church on the comer of Ilfth Avenue and Twenty-ninth
street, and the church in Lafayette Place, under the care of the Bev. Drs. Brownlee,
Pe Witt, Vermilye and Chambers.
644 HISTORY of/the
St. Mark's in Stuyvesant streret, built in 1795, with
the Rev. Dr. Harris as ministt.>r; Zion Church on the
corner of Mott and Cross streets, bunk in 1801, and under
the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. JPilmore ; and the
Eglise du Saint Esprit, the church of tl>£ early Huguenots
in Pine street, which, stripped of pulpit and pews during
the Revolution, had been repaired in 1794, but was not
opened for service until some time after. Grace Church,
the ancestor of the present splendid structure at the
apparent head of Broadway, was built soon after on the
site of the old Lutheran Church at the comer of Broad-
way and Rector streets.
Next in order came the Lutherans ; but their ancient
church in Broadway had been swept away by the fire of
1776; and the only one that now remained to them was
Christ Church, a stone building on the comer of Wil-
liam and Frankfort streets, under the care of the Rev. Dr.
Kunze, soon afterward succeeded by the well-known
Rev. F. W. Qeissenhainer. In Nassau, near John street,
was the German Reformed Church, erected in 1765,
and differing slightly in tenets from the latter.
Next came the Presbyterian denomination ; the first
church of which was a stone building, erected in Wall
street in 1719, and enlarged in 1768. In 1810, it was
rebuilt in handsome style, only to fall a victim to the
conflagration of 1836. It was rebuilt soon after, and
occupied for eight or ten years, when, tempted by the
increasing value of the ground, the congregation di^
posed of it for secular purposes, and removed to their
new edifice in Fifth Avenue, between Eleventh and
Twelfth streets. The old church was taken down, stoil^
i
CITY OP NEW YORK.
646
Trinity Church.
CITY OF NEW YORK,
647
^^^^^ia^^-'^'^
Grace Cliiirch.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 649
by stone and put up again in Jersey city, where it still
remains one of the most conspicuous objects of the
town.
First Presbyterian Church, Fifth Avenue.
In Beekman street was the Brick Church, afterwards
known as Dr. Spring's, built in 1767, on the angular lot
traditionally known bs ** the Vineyard," which had been
granted by the corporation at a rent of forty pounds per
annum, to John Rogers and Joseph Treat, ministers,
and John Morin Scott, Peter R. Livingston, and others,
660 HISTORY OF THE
trustees, for an indefinite period. More fortunate than
its neighbor, the Brick Church escaped the great confla-
gration, and remained a landmark of olden times until
the widening of Beekman street demanded its demolition,
when the congregation commenced the erection of a new
edifice on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-sev-
enth street. The iron railing which had surrounded the
church for so many years was taken down and removed
to South Brooklyn, where it was set up about the resi-
dence of the Hon. J. T. Stranahan. These were
Associated churches, and were under the care of the Rev.
Drs. Rogers, McKnight, and Miller. The Rutgers street
church, built in 1797, was a large frame building with a
cupola a)id a public clock, and was under the charge of
the Rev. Dr. MilledoUar. In Cedar street was the Scotch
Presbyterian Church, built in 1758, for and at this time
under the charge of Dr. Mason ; and in Chambers street
was the Reformed Scotch Presbyterian Church, a frame
building, erected in 1797, for the Rev. Dr. Alexander
McLeod. In 1807, a second Presbyterian Church was
built in Cedar street for Dr. Romeyn, which became the
ancestor of Rev. Dr. Pottos church in Umversity Place,
and Dr. Alexander's on the corner of Nineteenth street
and Fifth Avenue.
The first Baptist church in the city was an edifice of
blue stone, erected in Gold street, near Fulton, in 1760,
of which the Rev. Mr. Parkinson was pastor. This
chin\ li was taken down in 1840, and the stone of which
it was composed worked up into the First Baptist Church
on the corner of Broome and Elizabeth streets, to which
the congregation soon after removed. In Oliver street
CITY OF NEWYORK.
651
Dr. Alexander's Church, Comer of Fifth Avenae and Nineteenth street.
CITY OF NEW YORK
&ft3
First Baptist Charch, corner of Broome and E!i.: iL Ah srieta.
was another stone church of the same denomination,
built in 1795, and rebuilt and enlarged in 1819 ; and in
Rose street was another, built in 1799.
The Methodist Church had its foundation in a small
rigging loft in fiorse and Cart Lane, now William street,
where William Embury, a local preacher from Ireland,
aided by Captain Webb, of the British army, formed a
nucleus of the disciples of Wesley in 1766. Soon out-
growing this humble tenement, the society purchased a
lot of ground in John street, and, in 1768, erected a
stone edifice which they christened Wesley Chapel.
This was removed in 1817 to Harlem, and the present
chapel erected on its site. A second was built in Forsyth
street in 1780, and a third in Duane street in 1795.
654
HISTORY OP THE
Among the oldest of the religious societies was that of
the Friends, whose first place of worship was erected in
Green near Liberty street about 1706. This was rebuilt
and enlarged in Liberty street in 1802, and afterward
transformed into the seed store of the well-known Grant
Thorburn. The second meeting-house of the denomi-
nation, erected in Pearl street, in 1775, was taken down
in 1824, to make room for other buildings.
The Jews had a synagogue in Mill street — ^the street
is now blotted out of existence — a neat stone edifice
erected in 1730, opposite the site of the small frame
building which they occupied at first as a place of wor-
ship. The Moravians had a church in Partition, now
Fulton, near William street, erected in 1751, of which
St. Patrick's Cathedral, comer of Mott and Prince Streets.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 655
the Rev. Benjamin Mortimer was pastor. The only
Catholic church in the city was St. Peter's in Barclay
street ; a brick building erected in 1786. The next in order
was St. Patrick's Cathedral, on the corner of Mott and
Prince street, which was opened for service in 1815, and
was for many years the largest church edifice in the city.
The only library in the city was the Society Library,
incorporated in 1772, a sketch of which we have already
given. This was located in the library building in Nas-
sau street opposite the Middle Dutch Church, then con-
sidered an architectural ornament to the city.
The Custom House was in the Government House,
erected on the site of the old fort, in the place of the
present Bowling Green Row. The Post-office was kept
in the house of the postmaster, General Theodorus
Bailey, on the corner of William and Garden streets,* in
a room from twenty-five to thirty-five feet deep, with
two windows fronting on Garden street, and a little ves-
tibule on William street containing about a hundred
boxes. An extension was afterwards added in Garden
street, but it remained in the same spot until 1827,
when it was removed to the basement of the new
Exchange in Wall street. In 1844, it was transferred to
the Middle Dutch Church in Nassau street, where it still
remains.
Three banks were at this time in operation ; the Bank
of New York, chartered in 1791, with a capital of
$950,000, with Matthew Clarkson as president-; the
* This house was also the residence of Sebastian Bauman, the first postmaster of
the citj tubseqaently to the Revolution, appointed to the office bj General Wash
ington.
656 HISTORY OF THE
Uuited States Bank, incorporated in the same year, with
a capital of $10,000,000, with Cornelius Ray as presi-
dent, and the Manhattan Bank, incorporated in 1799,.
with a capital of $2,050,000, with Daniel Ludlow as
president. The Insurance Companies were three in
number ; the New York Marine Insurance, incorporated
in 1798 ; the Mutual Fire Insurance, incorporated tJie
same year, and the Washington Fire Insurance, incor-
porated in 1801. Both the banks and the insurance
companies were all located in Wall street.
Seven daily papers 'were now issued in the city — ^the
New York Gazette and General Advertiser, published by
Lang k Turner ; the New York Evening Post, published
by William Coleman and edited by M. Burnham ; the
American Citizen, published by James Cheetham ; the
Commercial Advertiser, published by Zachariah Lewis,
and edited by J. Mills ; the Picblic Advertiser, edited by
Charles Holt ; and the Mercantile Advertiser, published
by Ramsay Crooks ; besides the New York Weekly
Museum, published every Saturday by M. Harrison ;
and two medical journals, the one published quarterly
and the other semi-annually ; together with the Church-
man^s Magazine, by T, & J. Swords. This house, which
commenced business in 1787, has come down to the pre-
sent day under the various titles of Stanford & Swords,
Stanford & Delisser, and Delisser & Procter, and is notable
for having been the first publishing-house established on
a permanent basis in the city ; though books were issued
occasionally from the presses of Gaine, Rivington, Hodge,
Loudon, and other of the newspaper proprietors.
Three stages sufi&ced for the wants of the travelling
CITY OF NEW YORK.
657
community — the pioneers of the army of omnibuses of
the present day. One of these ran to and from Green-
wich, one to and from Harlem, and one to and from
Manhattanville. The first stopped at Baker's Tavern
on the corner of Wall and New streets ; while the others
started from the Bulls, opposite the site of the Bowery
Theatre.
The Park Theatre.
Tho only theatre in the city at the beginning of the
present century was the Park, built in 1798, and opened
three nights in each week. This theatre was burned in
1820, rebuilt and reopened in the following year, and
burned again for the last time in 1849, when its site was
covered with warehouses. This fronted the Park, from
which it derived its name, between Ann and Beekman
streets, and long retained the theatrical monopoly of the
42
658
HISTORY OF THE
city. Among those opened in the course of the next
half century were the Chatham, erected in 1824, and
growing out of the Chatham Garden, kept by Mr. Bar-
rere ; the New York, now the Bowery, built in 1826 at
the BulFs Head ; and the Lafayette opened in 1825
in Laurens near Thompson street, under the manage-
ment of Mr. Dinneford. Beside these, were the Broad-
way and Mount Pitt Circuses, the latter situated in
Grand street, opposite the upper end of East Broadway ;
the American or Scudder's Museum, opened in 1810 in
the New York Institution, once the Alms House, in
Chambers street ; Peale's Museum in Broadway, oppo-
site the Park ; the Chatham Museum established some
American Maseom, at the North end of the i'oi'k.
CITY OF NEW YOEK. 659
time after by John Scudder, the son of the proprietor of
the American Museum ; the Rotunda, erected in 1818
m the east corner of the Park, with its entrance on
Chambers street, designed for the exhibition of paint-
ings, and many more.
The markets of the city were four in number — the
Exchange Market at the foot of Broad street ; the
Oswego Market in Broadway at the head of Maiden
Lane ; the Old Fly Market, which in 1822 gave place to
the present Fulton Market ; and the Hudson or Bare,
now Washington Market, between Fulton and Vesey
streets. This curious appellation is thus accounted for
by a contemporary of the times. After the great fire of
1776 had destroyed the greater part of the houses in
that part of the city, it was thought advisable to estab-
lish a market there for the accommodation of the work-
men who were building up the burned district. But the
market-house was finished long before the streets about
it were rebuilt and settled ; as there were few purchasers,
the venders fell oflF, and thus in a very little time the
strange anomaly was presented of a fine market-house
bare of provisions. The present Washington Market-
house was erected and opened in 1813.
There were two ferries to Brookl3m, one from Fly
Market Slip near the foot of Maiden Lane, and the other
from Catherine Slip ; one to Paulus Hook, now Jersey
City ; one to Elizabethtown Point ; and another to Staten
Island. Jhe ship-yards were between Catherine street
and Corlaer's Hook and between Corlear's Hook and Stan-
ton street, in the part of the town then called Manhattan
Island, and regarded as quite beyond the limits of the city.
660 HISTORY OF THE
The Fire Department consisted of a single engineer,
who received his appointment f5pom the Common Council
and who was invested with absolute control over the
companies, engines, and all else that pertained to the
organization ; a number of firewardens, commissioned by
the same authority to inspect buildings, chimneys, etc.,
and to keep order at fires ; and several voluntary compa-
nies under the direction of a foreman, assistant and clerk
of their own choosing. A few engine-houses had been
built; the greater part of the hooks and ladders,
buckets, etc., were deposited for safe keeping in the City
Hall. Several of these pioneer companies still retain
their organization ; Columbian Engine Company No. 14,
in Church street, on the grounds of St. Paul's Church, is
the only one which remains in its original location.
The militia consisted of a single division under the
command of Major-General Stevens. The United States
Arsenal was at the junction of the Old and Middle
Roads, now Madison Square, while the State Arsenal was
situated at the junction of Chatham and Centre streets.
In the rear of the Government House, near where
formerly stood the lower barracks, was the old arsenal,
yard, where a quantity of military stores was deposited,
and to which, from time to time, curious relics made
their way, well worth the attention of antiquarians. It
was from the rubbish heaped up in this place that the
mutilated statue of Pitt was unearthed after the Revo-
lution.
The manners and customs of the citizens, now sixty
thousand in number, were still very primitive. The
Dutch language continued to be used largely in the city;
CITY OF NEW YORK. 661
very many of the signs over the stores were in Dutch,
and in Hudson Market, the resort of the farmers from
New Jersey, a knowledge of the language was abso-
lutely indispensable. The lower part of Pearl street was
at this time the fashionable part of the town, though
Barclay, Robinson and William streets were beginning
to dispute its claims. Each citizen swept the street
in front of his own house twice a week ; and the bell-
man came around every day with his cart for garbage. •
The streets were lighted by oil lamps. Coal was almost
unknown ; hickory wood was the principal article of
fuel. The milkmen traversed the streets early in the
morning, bearing a yoke on their shoulders, from which
tin-cans were suspended, shouting : ** Milk, ho !" in
token of their coming ; and water from the celebrated
Tea Water Pump on the corner of Chatham and Pearl
streets, was carried about in carts, and retailed at a
penny a gallon. The streets were swept by small negro
boys, who went their rounds at daybreak, crying:
*' Sweep, ho ! sweep, ho ! from the bottom to the top,
without a ladder or a rope, sweep, ho !" with numerous
variations.
Numerous quaint customs and street cries were in
vogue at this comparatively modern time, all of which
have now passed away, and are known to us only
through tradition. A strange mosaic of different nations,
with its successive strata of Dutch, English and French,
New York was truly a composite city, gathering floating
material from every nation under the sun wherewith to
form and mold a new people, which should embrace
the whole imiverse within the scope of its sympathy, and
662 CITY OP NEW YORK.
vie with its adopted tongue in its broad and cosmo-
politan character. Fit language, indeed, is the English
for such a nation ; as jet a mass of crude materia!,
gathered from the lexicons of every dialect that sprang
from the confusion of tongues, to be molded by time,
and use, and the master-hand of genius, into a qnon-
metrical form, perfect because all-comprehensive, and
fitting to become a universal language — the only tongue
that should be spoken by the people of a New World.
CHAPTER XX.
1801—1826.
Progress of the City— War of 1812— Politics of New York— The Canal Celebration.
One of the first events that marked the mayoralty of
Edward Livingston, was the construction of the Man-
hattan Water-works, the forerunner of the magnifi-
cent Croton Aqueduct and Reservoir of the present
day. There had always been a scarcity of good water
on the island. The spring of the celebrated Tea Water
Pump in Chatham street was excellent, but this would
not suffice for the wants of a whole city ; and the water
of the other wells and pumps, which were scattered
in profusion over the island, was almost unfit for use.
The initiative step toward supplying the city with water
had been taken in 1774 by Christopher CoUes, who had
constructed a reservoir at the public expense on the east
side of Broadway, between Pearl and White streets,* into
which water was raised from large wells sunk on the
* These groands comprised about two acres, and were purchased by the corpora*
tion of Augustus and Frederick Van Cortlandt, at the rate of six hundred pounds
per acre.
663
664 HISTORY OF THE
premises and also from the Collect, then distributed by
means of wooden pipes throughout the city. These
works were completed in the spring of 1776, and placed
the superintendence of Mr. CoUes ; but the
supply proved insuflScient, the water was of an inferior
quality, and in the ensumg foreign occupation of the
city, the enterprise was neglected, then finally aban-
doned, and the citizens returned to the wells of their
ancestors, which still continued to be located in the
middle of the streets. In 1798, the subject was again
taken into consideration, and a report having been made
by Dr. Brown, aflBrming the impurity of the water on
the island. Engineer Weston was directed by the corpo-
ration to investigate the matter, and report upon the
most feasible method of bringing in water from the
mainland. He recommended the raising of the Rye
Ponds to a reservoir in Westchester Coimty, the mills to
be located on the Bronx River, where the surplus water
would be used in raising the water, which would thence
be carried to the Harlem River • in an open canal, then
conveyed across the river through an elevated iron pipe
to a reservoir, where it would be filtered and then
distributed through the city. After some discussion, the
matter culminated in the formation of the Manhattan
Water Company with banking privileges. This com-
pany obtained a grant from the corporation of the
groimds formerly occupied by CoUes, and, erecting a
reservoir in Chambers street, between Broadway and
Centre street, a locality then considered far out of town,
pumped water into it from wells sunk in the vicinity,
whence it was distributed, by means of bored logs.
CITY OP NEW TORE.
665
CITY OF NEW YORK.
667
through the city. But this water proved both scarce
and bad ; the company, neglecting the ostensible pur-
pose of its organization, soon turned its attention almost
exclusively to banking affairs, and thus lost the con-
fidence of the community, and it was not long before the
new works were voted a failure.
A new City. Hall was determined on about the same
time, and in 1802, a premium was offered for the best
plan, which was awarded to Messrs Macomb and Maugin.
City HaU and Park.
668 HISTOBT OF THE
On the 20th of September, 1803, the comer-stone of the
new edifice was laid in the Park by Mayor Livingston,
in the presence of the corporation and the few of the
citizens who had not fled from the yellow fever, which
at this time was prevailing in the dty. This edifice,
which is too well known to onr readers to require from
us a detailed description, was finished in .1812, at a cost
of half a million of dollars. The front and both ends
were built of white marble from the quarries of Stock-
bridge, Massachusetts ; for the Chambers street front,
red sandstone was used from motives of economy, it
being thought that the material of this side was of little
consequence, as so few citizens would ever reside on that
side of the town.
In 1803, Edward Livingston resigned his oflSce, and
De Witt Clinton was appointed mayor in his stead.
Clinton was a native of the State of New York and a
resident of the city from early youth, having been the
first graduate of Columbia College after its change of
name. Few of her sons have contributed more largely
to the glory and prosperity of the city. Under his
auspices, the Historical Society was foimded, the Public
School Society instituted, the Orphan Asylum estab-
lished, the City Hall completed, and the city fortified for
the war of 1812. He continued in the mayoralty with
two years' intermission imtil 1815, when he resigned it
to enter public life on a more extended scale as governor
of his native State, and to mature the gigantic scheme of
canal-navigation, which won for New York the proud
title of the Empire State, and for its projector the lasting
remembrance of posterity.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 669
The charter election of November, 1803, was warmly
contested by the two opposing parties. Since the
last election, two new wards had been added to the city,
and this change gave the republicans strong hopes
of success. The contest resulted in favor of the fede-
ralisis, who carried the First, Second, Third, Fourth,
Eighth, and Ninth Wards, the two latter by a small
majority, leaving the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh in the
hands of the republicans. The result was accounted a
gain by the latter, who now added the Fifth Ward to the
Sixth and Seventh which they had carried uniformly
since the election of 1800. This was the dawning of
success ; in the election of the following year, some
changes in the franchise regulations having opened the
polls to a larger number of voters, they succeeded in elect-
ing their candidates in all the wards excepting the First
and Second. In 1805, they carried the Second Ward,
also, by a majority of two, and thus gained undisputed
ascendency in the city government. The First Ward
clung persistently to the fortunes of the federal party
mitil 1820, when the republicans, for the first time, suc-
ceeded in electing their candidate for alderman by a small
majority.
The violent political disputes of this period gave rise
to a fatal duel between two of the most prominent citi-
zens of New York ; Alexander Hamilton, who, though
bom in the West Indies, had been a resident of the city
from early youth, and his political antagonist, Aaron
Burr, at this time the third Vice-President of the United
States. The quarrel arose in political antagonism. In
the State election of 1803, Burr, who had lost the con-
I
670 HISTORY OP THE
fidence of the republican party, had been nominated for
governor by the federalists, in opposition to Morgan
Lewis, and, although the latter were at this time the
leading party in the State, was defeated by his opponent
by a large majority. This defection in the federal ranks
he attributed to the influence of Hamilton, then the most
prominent man in the party, who had denounced him in
caucus as an unprincipled politician and warmly opposed
his election ; and, smarting xmder the influence of his
defeat, he sent him a challenge, to which Hamilton demur-
red at first, then afterward accepted. At sunrise on the
11th of July, the parties met on a plateau on the Jersey
shore, about half a mile above Weehawken. Hamilton
was mortally wounded at the first fire, and fell, discharg-
ing his pistol in the air. He was conveyed across the
river to the house of Mrs. Bayard, over the site of which
Horatio street now passes, where he breathed his last on
the afternoon of the following day. The fatal result of
this affair caused the deepest sorrow, not only in the city
but throughout the whole country. Hamilton had been
the bosom friend of Washington, his talents were of the
highest order, he was a consummate statesman, and his
moral character was without a stain. Pew men stood
higher than he in the esteem and confidence of the com-
munity, and even those who had been his bitterest polit-
ical opponents regarded his loss as the greatest evil that
could happen to a community — ^the loss of a man of
unblemished integrity from oflF its stage of action. His
remains were escorted, on the 14th inst., by a large pro-
cession to Trinity Church, where the funeral oration was
pronounced by Gouvernem: Morris, and the body interred
i
CITY OF NEW YORK,
671
CITY OP NEW YORK. 673
with military honors in the cemetery of the church. A
monument was afterward erected over his grave by the
Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member ;
while the St. Andrew's Society, to which he also belonged
— his father having been a Scotchman, an indispensable
requisite to membership in this society — caused a mon-
ument to be erected over the spot on which he fell.
On the first of November, 1804, the foundation of
the present Historical Society — a body to which, more
than all others, the city of New York is indebted for the
preservation of those documents and records which alone
can preserve her true history to the world — ^was laid in
the picture-room of the City Hall by eleven persons, who
organized themselves into a society, and choosing DeWitt
Clinton as the first president, pledged themselves to
use their utmost efiForts to collect whatever might relate
to the natural, civil, literary and ecclesiastical history of
the United States in general, and of the State of New
York in particular. The foundation of this society was
chiefly due to the instrumentality of Judge Egbert Ben-
son and John Pintard, Esq. The association soon grew
into favor, and its numbers increased slowly, but steadily.
For some time, the meetings continued to be held in the
City Hall, where the first historical festival of New York
was held on the 4th of September, 1809, the two hun-
dredth anniversary of the discovery by Hendrick Hudson
of the island of Manhattan. In the same year, the
society removed to rooms in the Government House,
where it remained until the demolition of the building,
in 1815 ; after which it located itself, first on the corner
of Broadway and Chambers street, then in the Stuyve-
43
674 HISTORY OP THE
sant Institute, and afterward in the New York Univer-
sity, whence it removed for the last time in 1857 to the
new library building on the comer of Second Avenue and
Eleventh street, which, for convenience and tasteful ele-
gance, ranks second to none of the libraries of the city.
The same year was marked by one of those terrible
fires which were wont to ravage the city periodically
before the introduction of fire-proof buildings, together
with an eflBcient Fire Department The conflagration
broke out on the 18th of December in a grocery store
in Front street, and raged with fury for several hours,
burning the old Coffee House on' the corner of Pearl
and Wall street, the scene of so many patriotic gather-
ings in the days of the Revolution, with many other of
the old landmarks of the city. Forty stores and dwell-
ings were destroyed by this fire, which was supposed to
have been the work of an incendiary. The loss of
property was estimated at two millions of dollars.
The following year witnessed the initiatory movement
of a noble institution which, matured and perfected, is
destined to be the crowing glory of our country — ^the
Free School. The credit of this is due chiefly to some
members of the Society of Friends, who, aided by the
efforts of De Witt Clinton, obtained the incorporation of
the Public School Society, in 1805, with Clinton as
its first president. The first school, No. 1, was opened
on the 17th* of May, 1806, in Madison near Pearl street,
with forty scholars, the instruction being gratuitous to
some and almost nominal to all. Not content with thus
placing the means of education within the reach of every
one, the society did more ; it employed persons to go
CITY OF NEW TOBK
675
St George's Church— Dr. Tyng'g.
CITY OP NEW YORK.
677
First Public School House.
about the city and gather the destitute and untaught
children into the schools that they might receive the
needed instruction. The experiment proved successful,
and soon won the public approval, at first withheld or
cautiously bestowed on the innovation. In 1808, the cor-
poration donated the old State Arsenal, on the corner of
Chatham street and Tryon Row, to the society, on condi-
tion that they should educate the children in the Alms
House ; and, in 1811, School No. 2 was built in Henry
street, on ground given by Colonel Rutgers. The pioneer
school was afterwards removed to William street, where it
still stands numerically at the head of our public schools.
The society continued to flourish and rapidly to
increase the number of its houses until 1842, when a
new school law was passed, providing for the establish-
ment * of Ward Schools, to be wholly gratuitous and
supported by taxation. The two systems continued to
work together harmoniously under the supervision of
678 HISTOBT OP THB
a Board of Education until 1853, when the Public School
Society resolved to make over their property to the
corporation, and to relinquish their diarter, which was
accordingly done. Fifteen of the trustees were admit-
ted into the Board of Education for two years, the
remaining eighty entered the local boards, and the ven-
erable Public School Society passed out of existence.
Yet its name will ever be honored by the firiends of
education as the efficient pioneer of public instruction.
From the single school with its forty scholars have sprung
up 207 schools, numbering over one hundred and thirty-
seven thousand pupils, beside the Free Academy,
established in 1847, for the purpose placing a uni-
versity education within the reach of every youth of the
city.
Of a diflferent nature but not less important was the
event which marked the year succeeding the organiza-
tion of the Public School Society — a year which will
ever be memorable in the annals of our city for the suc-
cessful introduction of steam navigation. In 1798,
Chancellor Robert R. Livingston had received from the
Legislature, as the discoverer of this new power, the
exclusive right of steam- navigation in all the waters
within the limits of the State for twenty years, provided
that within twelve months, he should produce a boat,
the average speed of which should not be less than four
miles an hour. This he failed to do, and the grant
remained in abeyance until 1803, when, having made the
acquaintance of Robert Fulton in France, and aided him
in some encouraging experiments, he obtained a renewal
of the monopoly for the twenty years ensuing, on condi-
CITY OF NEW YORK.
679
a
o
P
a
CITY OF NEW YORK. 681
Toitrait of Robert Fulton.
tion that he and Fulton, his partner in the grant, should
fulfill the required conditions within the space of two years.
They immediately set to work to realize their design.
Fulton took up his residence in New York, and com-
menced the construction of the Clermont, the first of the
steam vessels. No one believed in the possibility of his
success; the citizens looked jeeringly at the craft, and
christened it in derision, ** The Fulton Folly." Nothing
daunted by their taunts, the sanguine projector perse-
vered in his task, and on the 7th of August, 1807, an-
nounced his vessel as ready for the trial trip to Albany.
The boat was launched from Jersey City. At the time
appointed, thousands of spectators thronged the tem-
porary staging that had been erected along the sloping
shore, to witness the failure of the chimerical enterprise.
As the wheels revolved, slowly at first, then increasing
in velocity, and the vessel was propelled toward the
middle of the river, the cry of '* she moves, she moves !"
682
niSTOUY OF THE
The Clermont — Fulton's first otcambottL
run llii'oii^li the uubelieviag crowd ; wliile the sailors on
the other vessels, on witnessing the strange craft as she
came puffing and snorting up the stream, fell upon their
knees, and prayed to be delivered from the evil one.
Fulton enjoyed his triumph as the speed increased, and the
new power which he had chained to his bidding, bore him,
ill defiance of wind and tide, far from the sight of the dis-
comfited citizens. Stopping a single night at the seat
of Chancellor Livingston, he reached the place of his
destination in thirty-two hours and secured the monopoly
of steam navigation over the waters of New Tork.
But Fulton had not been alone in the pursuit of this
lucrative monopoly. John Stevens with his son, R. L.
Stevens, of Hoboken, had long cherished the idea of
availing themselves of the power of steam, and almost
simultaneously with Fulton, but just too late, had
CITY OF NEW YORK. 683
effected their purpose in the steamer Phoenix. Antici-
pated in the scheme by his successful rival, Mr. Stevens
struck out into a new field, and, sending his steamer
round to Philadelphia by sea, first won the mastery over
the waters of the ocean as Fulton had done over those of
the rivers. It was not long before the monopoly was
set aside, and the Stevens again entered the lists of
competition, producing an improved steamboat, capable
of making thirteen and a half miles an hour, which con-
vinced the doubters and persuaded them that the age of
miracles was not yet past.
One of the most important uses of this new power
which had thus been forced into the service of mankind
was in bridging the rivers which separated the city from
the opposite shores. The ferries, especially those of
Long Island, had always borne an important part in the
history of the city ; from their rent a great part of ita
revenue had been derived, and the proprietorship had
been a constant source of dispute between the citizens
and the residents at the opposite terminus. We have
noted the progress of the ferries from time to time, in
the preceding pages, but we propose to give here a brief
review of their history, the better to explain the bear-
ings of the vexed ferry question.
The first ferry was naturally established between New
York and Brooklyn, its earliest neighbor. To avoid as
much as possible the labor of stemming the strong cur-
rent, the narrowest part of the river was chosen, though
this was far above the furthest limita of the city, being
from a point below Peck Slip on the New York to
Fulton street on the Long Island side of the river. This
684 HISTORY OP TEE
ferry — the Old Ferry, as it afterward came to be called—
was maintained as a private speculation until about the
middle of the seventeenth century, when a regular ferry
was established, and made a source of revenue to the
city. The first ferry-house in New York was on the cor-
ner of Broad and Garden streets, now Exchange Place,
a low, one story house, with two dormer windows in the
high, steep pediment rool, built in conformity with the
Knickerbocker style of architecture, and an iron boat,
oars and anchor for a sign, the principal landing-place of
the ferry-boats, both from the Long Island and Jersey
shores. The Brooklyn ferry-house at the foot of Fulton
street was a commodious two story house, with stables
and outhouses attached — for unlike the ferry-houses of
the present day, these were also taverns for the accom-
modation of travellers. This ferry-house was burned m
1748 by the Sepoys of Long Island by way of revenge
for the infringement on their rights .by the corporation
of New York.
The dispute originated in this wise. As we have
already said, the ferry was at first a private speculation,
establis^hed in 1642 by CoFnelius Dircksen, who kept a
small inn near Peck SUp and owned a farm in the vicinity.
William Jansen was his successor.
In 1652, the Burgomasters of New Amsterdam made
an unsuccessful application to Grovernor Stuyvesant for
the ferry to Breukelen to defray the city expenses. In
1654, an ordinance was passed, regulating the rates of
ferriage, and in 1658, Harmanus Van Borsum hired the
ferry from Governor Stuyvesant, at auction, at an
annual rent of three hundred guilders, and became the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 685
successor of his father Cornelius' who had died a short
time before.
Upon the cession of the city to the English, the new
rulers assumed control over the waters, and made the
ferry pay toll to the city government. The people, how-
ever, insisted on their right to ferry themselves and their
neighbors across the river, provided that they did not
interfere with the landing-places of the corporation, and
so formidable became the opposition of these private
ferries that the lessees of the government abandoned
their enterprise in despair. John Airensen, John
Euwatse and Dirck Benson successively tried the experi-
ment and abandoned the lease, and the corporation
became convinced that they must adopt some new policy
or abandon all hope of revenue from the ferries.
Hitherto they had been balked in their endeavors to
crush these private enterprises from the fact that they
could claim no jurisdiction over the neighboring shores ;
but, in 1708, they obtained a charter from Lord
Cornbury, which not only confirmed them in their title
to the old ferry, but also invested them with a grant of
all the land lying between high and low-water mark on
the Long Island shore from the Wallabout to Red Hook,
with the privilege of establishing additional ferries
within these limits. The farmers along the shore were
still permitted to ferry themselves and their produce
across the river, but were strictly forbidden to carry any
passengers.
This charter incensed the Brooklynites greatly, and
they did all in their power to evade its conditions. Urg-
ing that the instrument was worthless in the absence of
686 HISTORY OF THE
some technical formality, they continued their ferries
and so harassed the corporation that in 1740 the latter
obtained a more explicit renewal of their grant in the
Montgomerie charter, and also procured the passage of
an act by the Provincial Assembly, prohibiting private
citizens from ferrying passengers across the river under
penalty of a fine. After vainly endeavoring to obtain
the repeal of this act, the people determined to have
recourse to the law, and instituted a suit which was car-
ried from court to court of the province, and finally
referred by appeal to the king, when the vexed questions
of the day were put to rest by the Revolution. Upon the
restoration of tranquillity, it was again revived, and has
ever since furnished food for litigation, though the peo-
ple have, as yet, been worsted in the contest.
Until the year 1810, row-boats or pirogues were the
only ferry-boats upon the rivers. Next came the horse-
boats — twin-boats, with the wheel in the centre, pro-
pelled by a sort of horizontal treadmill worked by horses,
the first of which was introduced on the 3d of April,
1814, upon the Catherine street ferry. This was a boat
of eight-horse power, crossing the river in from twelve
to twenty minutes. The first improvement was made in
the substitution of steam for horses as the motive power,
and the first steamboat, the Nassau, was put on the Ful-
ton ferry on the 8th of May in the same year ; but the
new agent being found as expensive as expeditious,
it failed to find favor in the eyes of the Company, and,
for many years, this remained the only steam ferry-boat
upon the river. In 1824, the monopoly which had been
granted to Fulton and Livingston was set a.side by order
CITY OP NEW YORK. 687
of the Supreme Court, the use of steam was thrown open
to public competition, and the horse-boats soon became
obsolete institutions.
The first improvement in the steam ferry-boats was
the single boat with side-wheels ; the first of which was
the Hoboken, built by R. L. Stevens in 1822. Simul-
taneously with these came the floating bridges which rise
and fall with the tide, aided by counterbalancing weights
on the shore — the invention of Fulton — and the spring
piles, constructed by R. L. Stevens. These improvements
soon found favor on the ferries, the plan of bridging the
river by an arch was abandoned, in the face of this new
agent, which set time and space at defiance, and the
genius of steam gained undisputed dominion over the
waters.
In the charter election of 1806, the federalists suc-
ceeded in regaining the ascendency in the city, of which
they had been deprived, and carried the First, Second,
Third and Fourth Wards, together with the Fifth
through an independent candidate to whom they had
given their support. De Witt Clinton was in conse-
qence removed from the mayoralty by the Council of
Appointment at Albany, and the veteran Marinus Wil-
lett was appointed in his stead ; while the recorder,
Pierre C. Van Wyck, was superseded in his office by
Maturin Livingston. Disaffection was now springing up
in the republican ranks. The scope of our work does
not permit us to trace the rise and progress of the
numerous political parties that sprung suddenly into
existence from time to time, and as suddenly vanished ;
it will suffice to say that, at this time, a deadly feud
I
688 HISTORY OF THE
existed between the Clintons and the Livingstons, that
Governor Lewis, who was related to the latter, threw
his influence in their favor, that the section of the repub-
lican party which still clung to Burr made common
cause with these, and that with these cliques was allied
that of the Madisonian republicans, who supported Madi-
son for president in opposition to George Clinton, the
ex-governor of the State.
In the following year, the Clintonians regained the
ascendency, De Witt Clinton was again appointed
mayor, and Pierre C. Van Wyck was restored to the
recordership. In the charter election, the First, Second
and Ninth Wards alone were carried by the federalists.
These were increased in the election of 1808, by the
addition of the Third and Sixth wards, making an
equal division of power. During this year the Tenth
Ward was added to the city.
At the State election of 1809, the federalists for the
first time since 1799, carried the State, upon which the
appointment of the mayor depended.* This change was
owing to the declaration of war which was now pending,
and against which there was strong opposition. At the
charter elections, the regnant party achieved a similar
success, electing their candidates for aldermen in all the
wards except the Fifth and Tenth, and gaining fifteen
out of twenty of the whole common council. At the
first meeting of the Council of Appointment at Albany,
De Witt Clinton was again removed from the mayoralty,
• The major wu at this time appointed to offioe by a Cooncil of Appointment
oonsiflting of a senator chosen by the Legislatore from each of the four districts of
the State, with the goreraor as chairman of the coandL
CITY OP NEW YORK. 689
and Jacob RadcliflF appointed in his stead ; while Pierre
C. Van Wyck was again removed from the recordership
to make room for Josiah Ogden Hoflfman. In the fol-
lowing year, the latter was restored to the oflfice, then
removed for the third time in 1813, and Hoffman again
appointed in his place.
In the charter election of 1810, the republicans gained
a majority in the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Tenth wards.
This success was followed up by a victory in the State
election, which restored De Witt Clinton .to the mayor-
alty, in which he continued until 1815. During this
time, the politics of the city were fluctuating. The
charter election of 1811 made no change in the Board.
The election of 1812 gained to the federalists the assist-
ant alderman of the Tenth Ward, and in 1813, the
republicans gained the Sixth Ward, thus securing an
equal division of power. This was recovered by the
federalists in the following year ; when the great issue
upon which the parties bad been divided was ended by
the termination of the war.
From this brief sketch of the political affairs of the
city during the beginning of the century, we will return
to its local changes and improvements. In 1807, a new
missionary enterprise was undertaken by Trinity Church
by the erection of St. John's Chapel in Varick street,
on what was then deemed the outskirts of civilization.
This was located opposite a dreary marsh, covered with
brambles and bulrushes and tenanted by frogs and
watersnakes, and was regarded by the citizens at large
almost as a proof of insanity on the part of the church
authorities.
4d
690 HISTORY OF THE
A curious fact discovered on the records of a Lutheran
church of New York by one of the antiquarians to
whom the city is so deeply indebted for preserving its
traditions of the past, will serve to illustrate the popular
faith at this period in the rise and progress of real estate
in the upper part of the town. The church was at this
time involved in pecuniary diflSculties, contributions were
solicited in its aid, and, to relieve it in its embarrassment,
a friend proposed to donate to it a tract of six acres of
ground in the neighborhood of the stone bridge on the
comer of Broadway and Canal street ; but, after mature
deUberation, the trustees refused the gift, alleging that
the land in question was not worth the trouble of
fencing in.
The commencement of the United States Navy Yard
at Brooklyn in the beginning of the century called the
attention of the citizens to an act of duty which had too
long been delayed. The first stroke of the spade into
the sand-hill upon which the new buildings were to be
erected opened a terrible mine to the eyes of the public.
The whole shore, the slope of the hill, the sand island in
the vicinity — all were filled with the bones of the prison-
ship martyrs, who had been thrust coffinless into the
ground and literally piled one upon another. The hor-
rible revelation reminded the citizens of the too-long
neglected duty ; the relics were carefully collected and
placed in the charge of the Tammany Society, and, on
the 8th of May, 1808, escorted by one of the grandest
processions that New York had ever witnessed, were
conveyed to their final resting-place in a vault in Jack-
son street, not far from the spot of their original inter-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 691
ment. Thirteen coffins filled with the bones were carried
in the procession, and eighteen hogsheads besides were
gathered from the sands and deposited in the vault.
The corporation attended in a body, the bells were tolled
and minute guns fired during the procession, and the
whole city seemed dad in mourning.
In 1811, the city was again devastated by a terrible
conflagration, which raged with fury for several hours,
destroying nearly a hundred houses, and baffling for a
long time all the efforts of the firemen. The steeple of
the Brick Church and the cupola of the New Jail took
fire and were barely saved, the one by the prompt action
of a sailor by the name of Stephen McOormick, the other
by the presence of mind of a prisoner on the premises.
Both were afterward rewarded by the corporation.
One of the most important events of this period was
the adoption of a plan of the future city, to which we
owe the parallel streets and broad avenues of the upper
part of the island, which contrast so strongly with the
narrow streets and crooked lanes of the down-town
locality. This plan was due to Simeon Dewitt, Gouver-
neur Morris, John Rutherford and S. Quel, who had
been appointed by the Legislature in 1801, as commis-
sioners to lay out and survey the whole island to Kings-
bridge into streets and avenues. By the proposed plan,
the streets, beginning with the first on the east side of
the Bowery above Houston street, numbered upward
to the extreme end of the island. These were inter-
sected by twelve avenues, numbering westward from
First Avenue, the continuation of Allen street, to
Twelfth Avenue upon the shores of the North River.
692 HISTORY OP THE
As avenues were afterward laid out to the eastward of
the former, they were designated by the names of the
letters of the alphabet, A, B, C and D. By this plan,
the island was laid out with admirable regularity, while
the squares and triangles which were formed by the
junction of those time-honored thoroughfares which
could not be removed, were converted into public parks
for the ,adornment of the city. The despised Potter's
Field became the beautiful Washington Square ; the
Bowery and Broadway met amicably in Union Square ;
Madison Square was formed from the union of the Old
and the Middle roads ; the great salt meadow on the
eastern side of the city was drained, and Tompkins
Square, with hundreds of city lots, sprung up from its
depths ; valleys were filled up, hills were levelled, and
art seemed destined to surmount all the difficulties of
nature, and to make every inch of New York Island
inhabitable ground.
During the occurrence of these events, the progress of
the city had been greatly retarded by the threatening
aspect of aflFairs with England. Despite the provisions
of the treaty of 1795, the English had not ceased their
aggressions upon American commerce. In the war
that existed between England and France, the hostile
powers blockaded each other's ports, and captured all
American vessels that attempted to enter, despite the
neutrality which was strictly maintained by the nation.
Nor was this all ; the British cruisers, on the motto,
"Once an Englishman, always an Englishman," per-
sisted in boarding and searching American vessels, and
taking thence all naturalized citizens as subjects of the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 693
British crown. These constantly recurring grievances
irritated the people, and fast prepared them for an open
rupture.
As early as 1806, an aflfair of this kind occurred
almost within the port of New York, which excited uni-
versal indignation. In April, the British frigate Lean-
der, commanded by Captain Whitby, while cruising oflF
Sandy Hook, fired into the sloop Richard, an American
coasting vessel, and killed one of her men. The corpse
was brought up to the city and buried at the public
expense; and the citizens joined in demanding reparation
of the British government for the unprovoked outrage ;
but, though Captain Whitby was sent home to England
and tried by a court-martial, he was speedily acquitted
without punishment or censure.
On the 22d of June of the following year, the Ameri-
can frigate Chesapeake, when off the coast of Virginia,
was fired upon by the British man-of-war Leopard, and
forced to surrender four of her men, who were claimed
as subjects to the crown of Great Britain ; three of whom
were afterwards proved to be American citizens who
had been impressed by the British but had escaped from
their service. This outrage was followed by a proclama-
tion from President Jefferson, forbidding British armed
vessels to enter the harbors of the United States until
reparation for the attack upon the Chesapeake had been
made by the British government, and security given
against future aggressions.
War was now raging between England and France,
and, in November of the same year, the British govern-
ment issued " orders in council," prohibiting all trade
694
HISTORY OF THE
Church of the Ascensfon, corner of Fifth Avenae and Tenth Street
with France and her allies. By way of retaliation, in
the following month, Bonaparte issued the celebrated
Milan decree, forbidding all trade with England and
her colonies, and thus struclc the death-blow to American
commerce.
It now became evident to all that war was inevitable ;
and, in order to call home and detain the American
ships and sailors, and to put the country in a posture of
defence, on the 23d of September, 1807, an embargo
CITY OP NETf YORK. 695
was laid by Congress on all the vessels in the harbors of
the United States. The result was most disastrous ;
business was instantly paralyzed, failures occurred on
every side, and the whole country seemed in a state of
stagnation. This measure revived the disputes between
the federalists and the republicans ; the latter sustain-
ing the action of the administration, the former insisting
that, if war were made at all, it should be against France
as the principal aggressor.
On the Ist of March, 1809, the embargo which, while
failing to obtain from France and England the desired
acknowledgment of American rights, was ruinous to the
commerce of the country with other nations, was
repealed by Congress, and a strict system of non-
intercourse substituted in its stead. Relying on the
promise of Mr. Erskine, the British minister, that the
obnoxious '* orders in council '' should be repealed
before the 10th of June, President Madison, lately
elected to the office, proclaimed that commercial inter-
course with England should be renewed on that day.
The promise, however, was not kept, the government
disavowed the pledge of the minister, and on the 19th
of August, non-intercourse with England was again
proclaimed.
In March, 1810, the hostile decrees of the French
were revoked, and commercial intercourse was renewed
with the nation. The English, meanwhile, continued
their aggressions, stationing ships of war before the
American ports, to intercept the outward-bound vessels
and take possession of them as lawful prizes. Scarce an
American vessel was safe on the seas, and, finding that
696 HISTORY OF THE
no satisfaction was to be obtained from the British
government, Congress resolved at length to bring mat-
ters to a crisis, and on the 4th of April, 1812, laid an
embargo upon all vessels within the* jurisdiction of the
United States, which was followed on the 19th of the
ensuing month by the President's proclamation of war
against Great Britain.
Although the citizens had differed greatly in opinion
in respect to the expediency of the projected war, no
sooner had it been declared, than they pledged them-
selves heart and hand to aid in its accomplishment.
The news reached the city on the 20th of June, and on
the 24th, the citizens assembled in large numbers in the
Park to concert measures for future action.
The meeting was called to order at 12 o'clock, noon,
with Col. Henry Rutgers as president and Col. Marinus
Willett as secretary. The law of Congress declaring
war and the President's proclamation were read, and a
preamble and resolutions, approving the action of the
government, and pledging to its support ** their lives, their
fortunes and their sacred honor," were imanimously
adopted by the Assembly.* Copies of these resolutions
* These resolations we transcribe entire— the preamble from which they are
deduced is too long to be inserted here.
** Besolvedy That we hare viewed with pleasure and approbation the increasing
*' efTorts of our govemmei^t to preserve to our country the blessings of peace ; that
** we duly appreciate their able negotiations, and admire their unwearied patience to
** promote so important an end ; and that we consider them standing justified in the
*' eyes of their fellow-citizens in all the restrictxre measures to which they have
** resorted, as temporary expedients, with the hope of preventing thereby the evils
«* of war.
** Jieiolvedj That while solicitous of peace, and ardently attached to its blessings
*' we believe that the crisis had arrived when it could be no longer with bouor
CITY OF NEW YORK. 697
were ordered to be forwarded to the President, to
Cmigress, and to the press for publication, and the
people dispersed^ fully determined to make their words
good whenever they should be called upon to redeem
their pledges. So vigorously were they backed by
individual enterprise that, within four months after the
declaration of war, twenty-six privateers were fitted out
from the port, carrying two hundred and twelve guns
and twenty-two thousand and thirty-nine men.
The city, in the meantime, was ill prepared for
defence, although^ taking warning by the indications of
the gathering storm, the government had for some time
past been busy with its fortification. In the beginning
of 1807, the city was entirely defenceless. The Narrows
and the Sound were open and undefended, not a fortifi-
cation was to be seen in the harbor or on any of the
islands, and a small force might have sailed up to the
city without opposition, and captured it as did Nicolls in
the days of Stuyvesant. Awakened to a sense of the
impending danger, in the spring of 1807, the general
government began to take measures to fortify the harbor
of New York ; but the work went on slowly, and it was
** retained ; that we therefore hold our gOTemment justified in its appeal to arms
** against Great Britain, and yield to its decision onr unqnalified and decided appro-
" bation.
** Rmolvedy That as our gOTemment has now appealed to the sword, it becomes
*^ the duty of all good citizens, at such an eventAil period, to lay aside all part^
** animosity and private bickering, to rally as becomes brethren, equally involTedUh^
** the welfare of their common country, around the national standard, and to jield
** to tbeur gorernment an undiTided support.
*' Be9olvedy That in placing our reliance in the Most High, and solioitiag his
** benediction on our Just cause, we pledge to our goremment, in support of oiir>-
<< belored country, * our lives, our fbrtunes, and our sacred honor.* **
698 HISTORY OF THE
not until the war had been prosecuted for two years, and
the city was threatened with invasion by a British fleet,
that the citizens took the work into their own hands,
and succeeded in rendering the defences available.
In the spring of 1814, the blockade of the southern
poi'ts, which had been maintained by the British since
the beginning of the war, was extended along the entire
coast, and the Common Council, alarmed by this hostile
demonstration, issued a public call, urging the citizens to
come together and concert measures for the defence of
the city. In pursuance of this call, the people assembled
in the Park in front of the City Hall on the 11th of
August, 1814, to redeem the pledges of the former
meeting. Colonel Henry Rutgers was again chosen
chairman, and Oliver Wolcott secretary ; and Drs.
Mitchell and McNeven, with Messrs. Wolcott, Riker,
Anthony, Bleecker and Sampson, were appointed as a
committee to draft resolutions to be presented to the
meeting ; pending which, the veteran Willett addressed
the audience in a stirring speech, reviewing the events
of their first struggle for independence, and urging them
not to falter, but to support their leaders to the
end. His speech was received with shouts of en-
thusiasm. In a short time, Richard Riker presented
a preamble and resolutions in behalf of the com-
mittee, declaring their resolve to unite in arms on the
first approach of the enemy, and to defend the city to
the last extremity, and urging all the citizens to enroll
in the militia and the naval service, to assist in the
public works, and, by every means in their power, to
aid the authorities in their efforts to secure the public
CITY OF NEW YORK. 699
safety.* These resolutions were passed unanimously,
committees were appointed to confer on the proper mea-
sures to be adopted, and to correspond with the citizens
of other States for the purpose of inviting them to form
voluntary associations similar to those proposed in the
city, and the meeting adjourned amid shouts of applause.
* These resolntioia read as follows :
"* JUsdvtdj That the citizens here assembled, will, to the last extrcnaity, defend
" their city,
** Jiesolvedj That we will unite ourselves in arms with our brethren of the country,
** and on the first approach of the enemy, make it a common cause.
** Resolved, That humbly confiding in the favor of the Assembly, we hope to
** prove ourselves not unwortliy of that freedom won by the heroes of tke Revo-
"lution; and trust that the enemy they vanquished will receive from us a similar
" defeat.
** Retclved, That we highly approve of the measures for public defence which
** have been devised by the government of the United States, by his excellency the
"governor of the State, and by the corporation of this city; and that we will
** cooperate in carrying the same into effectual execution.
** Hetolvedy That it be recommended to the citizens generally, to 'meet, as soon as
** may be practicable with convenience, in their respective wards, for the purpose of
" electing discreet and efficient committees to promote the execution of the follow-
" ing objects :
** 1. To complete the voluntary enrollments of persons exempted by law from
" military service.
** 2. To encourage the enrollment of seafaring citizens for service in the harbor,
*' or as artillerists ; and
** 3. The enrollment of citizens for voluntary labor on the public works.
' " Resolved, That it be the special duties of the ward committees to provide,
" under the direction of the corporation of the city, for the relief and protection of
*' the families of such persons as may be absent on public duty, and also, to
** {uovide in the best manner practicable, for the protection of such helpless per-
'* sons and their property, as in case of alarm may be desirous of moving into the
** country.
" Resolved, That we will endeavor to promote concord, and will discountenance
•* all attempts to weaken the patriotic ofTorts of good citizens.
" Resolved, That we will endeavor to discover and subject to the animadversion
**of the laws, all persons wl.o shall be concerned in any illicit commerce or
** improper intercourse with tlic enemy.'*
1
700 HISTORY OF THE
The citizens were not slow in redeeming tlieir pledges.
Men of all classes and vocations lent a helping hand :
masons, carpenters, shoemakers, merchants, and incorpo-
rated societies, all turned out in distinct hodies to aid in
digging and constructing the works, and so numerous did
the oflFers of aid become that the corporation was often
obliged to entreat the friendly societies to wait from day
to day for want of room. The whole city wore a martial
aspect, militia companies were organizing and drilUng
here and there, the citizens hurried to and fro with pick
and shovel to labor upon the fortifications, and every-
thing bespoke the spirit of determined resistance.
With this efficient aid, the works were soon completed.
Castle Clinton, better known as Castle Garden, was con-
structed on the southwest point of the island, the North
Battery was built at the foot of Hubert street, and Fort
Gansevoort was erected at the foot of Gansevoort street
On Governor's Island, about half a mile south of the
city, was Fort Columbus, with the strong Fort William in
close proximity. About a mile to the westward of this,
on Bedlow's Island, was a strongly built star-fort, and on
Ellis Island, about a mile southwest from Castle Clinton,
was a circular battery. On Staten Island, eight miles
below the city, at the narrowest point of the passage
between Long and Staten Island, stood Fort Richmond,
a strongly built stone fortress, well supplied with all the
munitions of war, with Fort Tompkins on an eminence
directly in the rear, and Fort Hudson a little way below
on the shore. In the Hudson River about two hundred
yards from Long Island was Fort Diamond, afterward
Fort Lafayette, the strongest fortress of any, built on
CITY OP NEW YORK. 701
made groirnd on a shoal, which could only be seen at
low water. These fortifications, which in case of need
conld mount five hundred cannon, amply defended the
harbor, and precluded the possibility of a successful
invasion.
Nor were the fortifications at Hellgate and on the
upper part of the island, less effective. On Hallet's
Point stood Fort Stevens, with a stone tower in the rear;
the opposite shore was strongly defended by the fortifica-
tions at Benson's Point ; and strong works were erected
to protect McGowan's Pass on the road to Harlem and
the Manhattaiiville Pass on the Bloomingdale road, be- .
tween which a line of block-houses was thrown up.
Early in the month of August, a requisition was
made by Congress for twenty thousand troops, to
be stationed in and around New York, and the cor-
poration raised the necessary funds to meet the expense
under pledge of reimbursement by the general govern-
ment. Volunteers speedily flocked in from the
surrounding country, and, on the 1st of September, all
the artillery and infantry in the city and county were
consolidated and mustered into the United States service,
under their own officers, subject to the same rules and
regulations and receiving the same pay and rations
as the regular troops. Daniel D. Tompkins, at this time
governor of the State, and Major-General Morgan Lewis,
were the commanders at the post. The whole detached
division was placed under the command of Major-Gene-
ral Bbenezer Stevens. Commodore Decatur was
stationed in the city with a small force of picked men
to be ready for action by sea or land, and a strong fleet
702 HISTORY OF THE
laj in waiting in the harbor. The active duty required
was performed in turn by the companies with their
oflScers. Each company had its parade-ground, where
the men who quartered at home were drilled for tiiree
or four hours every morning and afternoon. The bat-
talions formed twice each week, the regiments once
a week, and the brigade once in two or three week^,
while the whole division under General Stevens had
three or four parades during their three months' service.
During this time, the diflferent regiments encamped in
turn at Harlem, and guarded the fortifications there
until relieved by a new corps from the city.
When, at the close of the campaign of 1814, the
division was reviewed by Governor Tompkins, it was
found to consist of more than twenty-three thousand
men, of whom but five himdred were regulars, while the
rest were volunteers. The regular army was on the
northern and western frontier, repelling the attacks of
the British and Indians, and New York had none but
her own sons to depend upon for safety. Happily, their
protection was not needed. The battle of New Orleans
virtually closed the war, and on the 24th of December,
1814, a treaty of peace was concluded at Ghent, and
signed by the commissioners of both nations. Strangely
enough, no mention was made in this treaty of the
causes which had led to the war — ^the encroachments
upon American commerce and the right of search and
impressment, but the former had ceased with the conclu-
sion of the war with France, while Great Britain had
quietly abandoned the practice of the latter.
The federalists having now the ascendency in the
CITY OP NEW YORK. 703
State, in March, 1815, De Witt Clinton was removed
from the mayoralty and John Ferguson appointed in
his stead« Ferguson was at this time the naval officer
of the customs. Being incapacitated by law from hold-
ing both offices, he resigned the new appointment in the
ensuing June, and Jacob Badcliff, who had already acted
as mayor in the last interregnum of Clinton's civic
administration, was appointed in his stead, while John
Ogden Hoffinan was at the same time superseded in the
recordership by Richard Riker. In the same year, the
time of the charter elections was changed from Novem-
ber to April, The election of this year was warmly
contested, and resulted in favor of the federalists, who
carried six wards as in the previous election.
In the charter election of 1816, the republicans
for the first time adopted the name of Democrats^ an
appellation which was for some time confined only to
the party in the city. In this election, they achieved
a signal triumph, carrying six wards out of the ten and
eflfectually routing tiie opposite party. This result was
repeated in the election of 1817.
From this time, the ancient federalist party steadily
declined, while new factions rose from its ruins, and allied
themselves with oflF-shoots from the republican party. The
issues that gave rise to these di^^isions are too compli-
cated for any but a political history of the times ; leav-
ing all details of this nature, therefore, to those to whom
it properly belongs, we shall briefly make mention of
the questions of the day, and outiine the career of the
rival parties.
At this time, the republican party was divided into the
704 HISTORY OP THB
two great divisions of Madisonians and Clintonians. To
the former belonged the greater part of the Tammany
party, familiarly known as " bucktails," from the deer's
tail worn as an emblem in their caps by one of the orders
of the society — an appellation by which the whole sec-
tion of the party opposed to Clinton afterward came to
be known. Of this party, Martin Van Bm-en becanoie
the most prominent leader.*
The state election of 1818 placed De Witt Clinton m
the governmental chair by the unanimous vote of all
the parties in the field. In the charter election, there
was less unanimity. The First, Second, and Third wards
were won by the federalists without opposition, ttie
Clintonians carried the Fourth Ward by a small majority,
and the remaining six wards were won by the bucktail
party. The republicans being again in the ascendency
in the State, RadcliflF was removed from the mayoralty,
and Cadwallader D. Colden, grandson of the former
lieutenant-governor of that name, of the dintonian
section, was appointed in his stead, Governor Clinton
giving the casting vote necessary to secure his election
in the Council of Appointment. In the following year,
Richard Riker was removed from the office of Recorder,
and Peter A. Jay appointed in his stead.
The charter election was won by large majorities by
the bucktails ; the federalists carrying only the First and
* The section of the republican partj opposed to De Witt Clinton originated as
early as 1806 in the " Martling men,** who took their name from thdr place of meet-
ing at Martling's Long Room, on the site of the Tract Honse. Tammany Hall, whieh
was built in 1811, afterward became the rendezrous of the Madisonians, whence the
section derived the name of the Tammany party.
CITY OP NEW TOEK. 706
Second wards entire and electing the alderman of the
Thu-d.
The charter election of 1820 resulted in a still more
decided victory to the bucktails, who carried all the
wards in the city, the Second alone excepted, for the*
first time electing an alderman in the First Ward. The
State elections of the fall for the members of the Legis-
lature resulted also in their favor, and, having thus suc-
ceeded in gaining a majority in the Council of Appoint-
ment, they removed Golden from the mayoralty to make
room for Stephen Allen, and restored the recordership
to their favorite, Richard Riker.
At the municipal election of 1821, the bucktails, now
known as the republicans, a name to which both they
and the Clintonians laid claim, succeed.ed in electing their
candidates in all except the First and Second wards.
Their success in the following election was still more
decisive ; and their candidates were elected in every
ward without opposition or by large majorities.
In the charter election held in November, 1823, a
new division arose in the politics of the city. The
ancient federalists were well-nigb extinct ; and the chief
point at issue was the nomination of a successor to
James Monroe, now on the eve of quitting the presi-
dency. William H. Crawford, *Henry Clay, Andrew
Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and John 0. Calhoun
were presented by their respective cliques as candidates
for the nomination ; and this competition excited new
party diflferences. Another question that arose at this
time was in respect to the appointment of electors ; a
portion of the people advocating the existing system by
45
706 HISTORY OF THB
which they were appointed by the Legislature ; and
others urging that this law should be repealed and the
choice of the electors submitted directly to the people.
The bucktail party, styled by its antagonists the
** Albany Regency," which supp(Mrted Crawford, avowed
itself in favor of the existing system, while the friends
of the other candidates, fusing on the point at issue
under the name of the " people's party," united in
urging the repeal of the law. The charter election was
closely contested, and resulted in the election of five
aldermen and six assistants on the people's ticket,
thus giving to the party a majority. In the course of
the year, the power of appointment of the mayor was
transferred from the Council of Appointment at Albany,
to the city corporation, who soon after superseded
Stephen Allen in the mayoralty by the appointment of
William Paulding, the former competitor of Colden.
Richard Riker was also removed from the recordership
to make room for Samuel Jones ; then restored to the
ofiBce in the following year.
In the elections of the two following years, the poli-
tics of the city were strangely complicated. New
factions sprung into existence, and independent candi-
dates were put in nomination. The people's party
retained its ascendency in the election of 1824 ; in the
following year the republicans regained their power,
electing their candidates in a majority of the wards.
Since the last election the Eleventh and Twelfth Wswds
had been added to the city. In the course of the year,
William Paulding was removed from the mayoralty, and
Philip Hone, a native-bom citizen and a federalist of
CITY OF NEW YORK,
707
CITY OP NBW YORK. 709
the old school, appointed in his stead ; not from any
influence of his party in the council, but in consequence
of a quarrel between the Mends of Paulding and Wil-
liam P. Van Ness, the candidates of the rival democratic
factions.
Having thus glanced briefly at the political fluctuations
of the city during the first quarter of the century, we will
resume the narration of the events of general interest
which transpired subsequently to the termination of the
war of 1812. This war left the country in an impover-
ished condition, but commerce soon began rapidly to
revive ; so rapidly, indeed, that the unnatural growth
brought on a commercial crisis in 1818-19, which oc-
casioned many failures and much suffering.
In 1817, the first regular line of packet ships to Liv-
erpool— ^the ** Black Ball Line" — was established by
Isaac Wright and Son, Francis Thompson, Benjamin
Marshall, and Jeremiah Thompson. This line consisted
of four ships from four to five himdred tons — ^the Pacific,
Amity, William Thompson, and James Cropper, which
sailed regularly on the first day of every month. The
*'Red Star Line" was next established by Byrnes,
Trimble, & Co., with four ships, the Manhattan, Hercules,
Panthea, and Meteor. These sailed on the 24th of each
month. About six months after, the proprietors of the
** Black Ball Line " added four more ships to their line
to sail on the 16th of each month, which were soon
after followed by the establishment of the " Swallow
Tail Line " by Messrs. Pish, Grinnel & Co., and Thad-
deus Phelps & Co., consisting of four ships, to sail on
the 8th of each month, thus making a fleet of sixteen
710 HisTOBT or TOfi
packets, with a weekly departure. This was a desidera-
tum which the citizens had had an opportunity to learn
to appreciate ; as, previously to this, ihe departures of the
European packets had been very irregular and had occa-
sioned much inconvenience to merchants and travellers.
On the 11th of July, 1818, the remains of Gen.
Richard Montgomery, the hero of Quebec, were trans-
ferred from their Canadian resting-place to the city, and
deposited with military honors beneath the mural tomb
in the front of St. Paul's Chapel, which had been erected
to his memory in 1776 by order of the Continental
Congress. Montgomery, though of Irish parentage, was
allied to many of the prominent families of the city,
through his" marriage with the sister of Chancellor Liv-
ingston, and this transfer of his remains occasioned a
lively interest among the people.
In 1819, the first Savings Bank — ^the institution now
located in Bleecker street — was organized under the
auspices of Thomas Eddy, Dr. John Griscom, John
Pintard, and other well-known citissens, and opened in
the basement of the New York Institution, once the
Alms House, in Chambers street, with William Bayard
as its first president.
The charter of the United States Bank, granted in
1791 through the efforts of Hamilton, had expired in
1811 by its own limitation, and, after endeavoring in vain
to procure its renewal, the friends of the banking system,
in 1812, applied to the New York Legislature for a
charter for a proposed ** Bank of America," in the city
of New York, with a capital of six millions, five millions
to be subscribed at their option by the stockholders of
CITY OF NEW YORK
711
Tomb of Montgomery, in the front wall of St Paul's CliapeL— (/Vr iiwenpfion, ui jk 712.)
712 HISTORY OP THE
This Monament is erected by the order <ti Congress,
25th JanT, 1776, to transmit to posterity a grateful remem-
brance of the patriotism, conduct, enterprise k per.<everance
of Major General Richard Montgomerjr,
Who after a scries of successes amidst the most dL^on-
raging difficulties Fell in the attack on
Quebec, SI"* Dec'. 1775, Aged 87 years.
InTenit et sculpsit, Parisiis J. J. OaAeri, Sculptor Begioii Anno Domini cbbcclxxrii
THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Caused the Remains of
To be conveyed from Quebec
And deposited beneath this Monument|
the 8th day of July,
18ia.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 713
the deceased United States Bank. This measure, which
was warmly supported by the federalists as well as by a
section of the republican party, was as zealously opposed
by Governor Tompkins, who, finding the bill likely to
pass both houses, prorogued the Legislature for sixty
days, in the hope, by gaining time, to secure its defeat.
But this delay availed him nothing ; the Legislature, on
reassembling, made it its first business to incorporate
the bank, the capital of which was subsequently reduced
to foiu: millions. The City Bank, with a capital of two
millions, and the New York Manufacturing Company,
the ancestor of the Phoenix Bank, with a capital of one
million two hundred thousand, were also incorporated
during the same session by the Legislature. These were
followed by a new National Bank, chartered in 1816 for
twenty years, with a capital of thirty-five miUions, a
branch bank of which was established in New York, in
Wall street.
In 1819, the city was visited by the yellow fever,
which soon disappeared, to return with increased violence
in 1823, when its reappearance excited universal conster-
nation. This time, the disease broke out in a new
quarter. Hitherto, it had invariably made its first
appearance on the eastern side of the town ; it now
commenced in Rector street, near the North River — a
neighborhood which had always been pecuUarly healthy,
and confined its ravages to that quarter of the city.
Although the fever had visited the city so often that it
might almost have been considered a naturalized disease,
with the appearance of which the citizens had grown
familiar through habit, it seemed this year to be regarded
714 HISTORY OF THE
with especial confitemation. All who coidd, fled the city ;
the banks and cuatom bouse were removed to Greenwich
village, the streets below the Park, comprising tiiie
infected district, were walled up, and all intercourse with
them strictly prohibited, and the resid^its tlierein who
were unwilling to quit their homes were forcibly removed
by the Board of Health. For a time, business was
entirely suspended, and the city wore the aspect of
absolute solitude, br<^en only by the rumbling of the
hearses, and. the shadows of the nurses who retrained to
watch the dying and care for the burial of the dead.
But these precautions tended greatly to check the ra-
vages of the disease. From the commencement of the
fever, on the I7th of June, to its disappearance, on the
2d of November, the deatJis numbered but two hun-
dred and forty, being far less than in most of its pre-
vious visitations. The quarantine, established at Staten
Island in 1821, soon checked the periodical recurrence
of the disease, whidi appeared for the last time during
this summer.
In the summer of 1824, news was received that Gene-
ral Lafayette was on his way to New York, and the
corporation at once prepared to welcome him as the
euest of the city upon his arrival. The idol of the whole
country, he was especially such of the city of New York,
made up in great part of the so-called " French party,"
which had S3rmpathized warmly with France in the
struggle for independence, headed in the first place
by Lafayette ; which had denounced the neutrality
of the American government as cowardly and dis-
honorable, and which let no opportunity slip for
CITY OF NEW YORK. 715
demonfitrating its attachmeut to France, and its corres-
ponding detestation of her rival, Great Britain. Not
less was he beloved by the opposite party — the friend of
Hamilton, the adopted brother of Washington, the
favorite of all his companions in arms, he had won
golden opinions from all ranks and parties by his frank-
ness and valor in the American Revolution, and his visit
was a continuous march of triumph throughout the
country. On Sunday, the 15th of August, he arrived in
the ship Cadmus, and landed on Staten Island, where he
remained till the next day at the residence of Daniel D.
Tompkins, at this time Vice-President of the United
States. On Monday, he was escorted up to the city by
a large naval procession, and landed at Castle Qurden
amid the ringing of bells, the salutes of artillery and the
shouts of the enthusiastic multitude, assembled to wel-
come the guest of the nation. From the Battery, he
was escorted to the City Hall, where he was welcomed
by the corporation, assembled there to receive him, and
congratulated by Mayor Paulding on his safe arrival,
then conducted to Bunker's Mansion Il^ouse, where free
quarters had been provided for him and his suite. Dur-
ing his stay in the city, he visited the navy yard, fortifi-
cations and public institutions, and held a daily levee in
the City Hall, where he was waited upon by thousands
of the citizens. At his departure, he was escorted by a
large detxu3hment of troops to Kingsbridge, whence he
set out for his proposed tour through the States. The
beginning was but the augury of the future. Every-
where, the same welcome and the same festivities awaited
him, and when he returned to New York in September,
716 HISTORY OP THE
1826, having accomplished a tour through the whole
country in the space of thirteen months, despite his
lameness and his eighty-six years, the citizens bade adieu
to him in a fSte at Castle Garden which surpassed any-
thing of the kind before witnessed in the country.
The year 1825 witnessed the completion of a public
work to which the city owes much of its present import-
ance— ^the Erie Canal. This gigantic enterprise grew out
of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, incor-
porated in 1792, with fifty members, for the purpose of
improving the navigation of the Mohawk River and of
opening a communication by canal to Seneca Lake and
Lake Ontario. Of this company. General Philip Schuy-
ler was president, and Barent Bleecker, Jeremiah John-
son and Elkanah Watson of Albany, with Thomas Eddy
and Walter Bowne of New York, the most active mem-
bers. The Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company
was also organized about the same time for the purpose
of opening a communication between the Hudson River
and Lake Champlain. The route in question was care-
fully surveyed by Mr. Weston, a civil engineer from
England, in company with Thomas Eddy ; and their
reports, added to a tour of observation made by himself
in 1800 through the western part of the State, suggested
to Gouvemeur Morris, who was actively interested in
the enterprise, the idea of a canal from the Hudson River
to Lake Erie. The proposal attracted general attention ;
the aid of the federal government was solicited in the
matter, and, failing to obtain this, a resolution calling
attention to the subject was introduced into the State
Legislature, in 1808, by Joshua Forman, of Onondaga
CITY OP NEW YORK. 717
County, and the surveyor-general directed to have the
route in question explored and surveyed, the sum of six
hundred dollars being appropriated for the purpose.
The survey was made by James Geddes, and a report
of it furnished to the surveyor-general in 1809. On the
13th of March of the following year, the subject was
brought up in the Senate by Jonas Piatt, and De Witt
Clinton, at this time a member of the Senate, was
induced to give his support to the measure. From this
time, dates the interest of Clinton in the canal ; and,
though he was not the original projector of the scheme,
it may safely be affirmed that to his practical talent, his
indomitable energy and his obstinate perseverance is due
the successful termination of the stupendous work — ^the
giant of canals and the pride of the Empire State.
Through his influence, the project was received with
favor in the Senate, and a committee appointed con-
sisting of Gouvemeiu: Morris, Stephen Van Rensselaer,
William North, Thomas Eddy, Peter B. Porter, Robert
R. Livingston, and Robert Fulton, of which Morris was
chairman, to survey the track of the canal, take levels,
make estimates and form plans. In 1811, a report was
furnished in behalf of the committee by Gouverneur
Morris, accompanied with a finely executed map of the
whole route ; upon the receipt of which, a bill was
brought into the Legislature by Clinton and passed on^
the 8th of April, vesting the canal commissioners with*
full executive power in respect to the navigation between
the Hudson and the Lakes — and now the struggle began.
The war, breaking out almost immediately, greatly
retarded the progress of the work. The magnitude of .'
718 HISTORY OF THE
the undertaking startled the citizens, many of whom
sneered at it as visionary, and termed it, in derision,
'* Clinton's big ditch ;" and the opponents of Clinton
made of the scheme a political issue, and thus strength-
ened the opposition by the prejudice of party. Clinton
and Morris, after vainly soliciting aid from the national
government, appealed for assistance to individual States,
and, aided by their friends, struggled long and earnestly
for the success of the enterprise. How much the public
expression of sympathy in the city of New York contri-
buted to the ultimate success of their endeavors will best
be told in Clinton's own words. '* At the commence^
** ment of the year 1816," says he, in his reply to the
New York Address, ** a few individuals held a consulta-
** tion in the city of New York, for the purpose of call-
** ing the public attention to the contemplated Western
**aud Northern Canals. The diflBculties to be sur-
** mounted were of the most formidable aspect. The
** State, in consequence of her patriotic exertions during
'' the war, was considerably embarrassed in her finances;
'' a current of hostility had set in against the project;
** and the preliminary measures, however well intended,
"ably devised or faithfully executed, had unfortunately
'' increased instead of allaying prejudice. And such was
** the weight of these and other considerations, that the
** plan was generally viewed as abandoned: Experience
'' evinces that it is much easier to originate a measure
** smccessfuUy, than it is to revive one which has already
**been unfavorably received. Notwithstanding those
"appalling obstacles, which were duly considered, a
" public meeting was called, of which William Bayard
CITY OP NEW YORK. 719
*' was chairman and John Pintard secretary ; a memorial
'' in favor of the canal policy was read and approved,
** and a correspondent spirit, which induced the Legisla-
** ture to pass a law authorieing surveys and examina- '
'* tions, took place in every part of the State,"
On ike ITth of April, 1816, a law was passed, appoint-
ing a board of commissioners with authority to lay out
the track of the canals, and appropriating twenty
tliousand. dollars for the purpose, De Witt Clinton was
appointed president of the board, then removed from
the oflBice in 1824, in direct opposition to the wishes of
the friends of the undertaking. On the 10th of March,
1817, the commissioners presented an elaborate report
of their proceedings to the Legislature ; and on the
17th of April, 1817, a law was passed amid the most
strenuous opposition, providing flinds for the construc-
tion of a grand canal, three hundred and sixty-three
miles in length, with a surface of forty feet in breadth,
declined to eighteen feet at the bottom, and containing
a depth of four feet of water, sufficient for convey-
ing vessels of more than one hundred tons burden,
which should connect the waters of the Great Lakes
with the Atlantic ocean, and form, next to the great
wall of China, the longest line of continued labor in the
world.
On the 4th of July, 1817, the ground was first broken
for the canal by James Richardson, on the middle section
in the vicinity of Rome, and from this date the work did
not cease for a single day until its completion in 1825.
On the 22d of October, 1819, the first boat sailed on the
Brie canal from Rome to Utica, with De Witt Clinton,
720 HISTORY OF THE
then governor of the State, Chancellor Livingston, Gen.
S. Van Rensselaer, and a large party of friends of the
enterprise on board. This was a passenger-boat, named
the Chief Engineer, in compliment to Benjamin Wright,
and was dragged by a single horse.
The work completed, the city of New York was
naturally selected as the most suitable place for the
canal celebration. On the morning of the 26th of
October, 1825, the first flotilla of canal-boats left Buffalo
for New York, where the intelligence of its departure
was received one hour and twenty minutes after by the
sound of cannon stationed along the line. The answer
was retmned in the same time ; and thus, in less than
three hours, Buffalo had spoken to New York and
received a reply. In our days of telegraphs, this seems
slow conversation ; but the electric wire had not then
girdled the earth, and this rapid transmission of news
seemed almost a miracle.
On the 4th of November, at about five o'clock in the
morning, the fleet, consisting of the Chancellor Living-
ston, in which were Clinton and his party, with a long
line of canal packet-boats in tow, arrived at New York
and anchored near the State Prison at Greenvnch, amid
the ringing of bells and the salutes of artillery. Here
they were met by the steamship Washington, with a
deputation from the Conmion Council on board, to con-
gratulate the company on their arrival from Lake Erie.
The fleet soon aflier weighed anchor, and, rounding the
Battery, proceeded up the East River to the Navy Yard,
where salutes were fired, and the visitors were met by
the corporation. Here a grand naval procession was
CITY OF NEW YORK. 721
formed, consisting of nearly all the vessels in port,
gaily decked with colors of all nations, and escorted to
the United States schooner Dolphin, moored within
Sandy Hook, where the great ceremony of the day was
to be performed. The actors in the programme having
entered the schooner, the vessels in the procession
formed a circle about the spot, and Clinton poured a keg
of the fresh water of Lake Erie into the waves, thus
wedding the inland seas with the Atlantic ocean. Fol-
lowing in his footsteps, Dr. Mitchill poured into the
waves waters which he had gathered from every zone —
from the Ganges and the Indus, the Nile and the
Gambia, the Thames, the Seine, the Rhine and the
Danube, the Mississippi and Columbia, the Orinoco, the
Plate and the Amazon, in token of the varied commerce
which would gather about the island, destined to become
the commercial centre of the world. On the land, the
celebration was not less imposing. A civic procession
four and a half miles in length, numbering nearly seven
thousand persons, paraded with banners and music
through the principal streets of the city, then proceeded
to the Battery to meet the corporation on their return
from Sandy Hook. A magnificent display of fireworks
was given in the evening in the Park, the public and
private buildings were illuminated, and the whole city
wore an air of festivity. Not a single accident occurred
to mar the harmony of the day, and the Erie Canal
celebration may justly be ranked as one of the most
isiiccessful pageants ever witnessed in the city.
Governor Clinton did not long enjoy his triumph, but
expired suddenly of disease of the heart while sitting in
46
722 CITY OP NEW YORK.
his library on the 11th of February, 1828. The news
of his decease occasioned deep grief in the city of which
he had been the greatest benefactor. Suitable public
testimonials of respect were oflfered by the corporation
to his memory, and, on the Canal anniversary of 1853,
a colossal bronze statue of him, executed by H. K. Brown,
of Brooklyn, to the order of several private citizens of
New York, was set up with appropriate ceremonies in
Greenwood Cemetry. Mr. Clinton was twice married ;
first, to Miss Maria Franklin, daughter of an eminent
merchant of the city, by whom he had seven sons and
three daughters ; and lastly, to Miss Catherine Jones,
daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones of New York, who sur-
vived him.
CHAPTER XXI.
1825—1855.
Gas Companies— The Italian Operap-JoornaUsm in the city— Great Fire of 1835— Com-
mercial Panic in 1837— The Croton Aqnednct— Aator Place Opera Honae Biot— Crystal
Palace— Position of Aibirs in 1855.
Nor was the Erie Canal — a work, of all others, rele-
vant to the history of the city, to the growth of which
it has contributed so largely — the only public improve-
ment that sprung into existence during the year 1825 ;
gas-pipes, joint-stock companies, the opera, the Sunday
press, and the Merchants' Exchange, all made their first
advent in the great metropolis in the course of the same
year.
First, of the introduction of gas into the city. Hitherto,
the streets had been dimly lighted with oil ; and though
efforts had been made to substitute something better,
and experiments had even been made in the Park with
gas-lights as early as the summer of 1812, nothing defi-
nite was done until March, 1823, when the New York
Gas Light Company was incorporated with a capital of
^1,000,000, with the privilege of supplying all that part
724 HISTORY OF THE
of the city south of Canal and Grand streets. In May,
1825, it commenced the proposed improvement by laying
gas-pipes in Broadway on both sides of the street, from
Canal street to the Battery. From these, they were
gradually extended over the southern part of the island,
though for years the city presented a checkered appear-
ance, with one block dimly lighted by the ancient oil-
lamps, and the next brilliantly illuminated from the
works of the new gas company. In 1830, the improve-
ment was extended to the northern part of the island by
the incorporation of the Manhattan Gas Light Company,
with a capital of $500,000, for the purpose of supplying
the upper part of the city, not included within the limits
of the New York Company. The innovation soon grew
into favor ; bothcompanies have been eminently success-
ful, and at the present day, nearly the whole of New
York Island is veined with a net-work of pipes, both of
gas and water, bringing the two elements into the homes
of the citizens, ready to gush forth at the touch of the
obedient faucet.
Not so beneficial in their results were the joint-sto<i
•companies, which, following in the lead of the specula-
tive fever which was raging at this time so fiercely in
England, rose only to lead an ephemeral existence, and
to fall again in the course of the following year with a
terrible crash, involving the all of thousands in a com-
mon ruin. The history of these is of too recent a date to
be classed as yet among historical facts, nor would our
limits permit it, were we disposed for the investigation ;
it suflBices to say that the conmiercial panic of 1826,
brought on by the failure of numerous joint-stock com-
CITY OP NEW YORK. 726
panies, some under the control of fraudulent stock-job-
bers, and others of visionary enthusiasts, honest in
purpose, yet misled themselves and misleading others by
the bubble of colossal fortunes, built up in a day by a
fortunate stroke, destroyed, for a time, all confidence in
business, and utterly paralyzed the commerce of the city.
But this state of aflfairs was of short duration ; business
gradually revived on a surer basis, the public lost confi-
dence in the lotteries, bogus banks, and kindred schemes
with which the whole country had previously been flooded,
and the chaos resulted in good to the whole community.
This year witnessed the first efifort to introduce the
Italian opera to the shores of the New World. The
theatre was already a fixed institution ; the stage ot the
old Park Theatre had witnessed the performances of
Cooke, Kean, Cooper, Booth, Wallack, Conway, Math-
ews and many others ; Incledori, Braham, Phillips and
other vocalists had also been received with favor by the
New York public ; yet no attempt had been made at
operatic performances. In 1825, the Q-arcia troupe
arrived, and, on the 29th of November, made their first
appearance at the Park Theatre in the opera of/* II
Barbiere di Seviglia,'' in which Signorina Garcia, after-
ward the celebrated Malibran, then but seventeen years
of age, made her d€hut before the American public, and
was received with unbounded enthusiasm. The genius
of the great artist was quickly recognized, and the press
of the city teemed with her praises. The first opera
was continued for thirty consecutive nights, then replaced
by others with equal success. She afterward appeared
in English opera at the Bowery Theatre, opened for the
726 HISTORY OF THB
first time in October, 1826, where she received ten
thousand dollars for seventeen nights^ performances. But
the attempt was premature ; the country was still too
young to afford the necessary encouragement to art, and,
finding their success not commensurate with their wishes,
the artists determined, after two years' trial, to abandon
the enterprise, and, in 1827, set sail for France, where
the youthful prima donna won herself a world-wide
reputation as the acknowledged Queen of Song, then
expired in the midst of her triumph, at the early age of
twenty-eight. Other attempts to establish the Italian
Opera on a permanent basis soon followed with like
success ; Palmo, with a choice troupe of artists and a
tasteful little Opera House, seemed likely for a time to
succeed, but was forced at last to abandon the enterprise ;
the Astor Place Opera House, built in 1848, bore the
stamp of failure from its very foundation, and, passing
in 1852 into the hands of Donetti, was converted into a
menagerie ; then, in 1854, was purchased by the Mer-
cantile Library Association and transformed into the
present Clinton Hall ; the Academy of Music, the finest
Opera House in the world, opened an 1855, with high
hopes of success, also proved a failure, and was soon
afterward thrown open to the concert and the drama,
and to this day the opera, though now more firmly
established than ever before, remains an exotic, without
a local habitation.
This was also the epoch of the introduction of marble
as a building material. Marbles abounded of every
shade and texture and of a fineness unsurpassed by any
in the Old World, yet so strong was the prejudice exist-
CITY OF NEW YORK
727
o
CITY OF NEW YORK. 729
ing against them that when the American Museum, the
first marble-fronted building in the city after the City
Hall, was built in 1824, not a workman could be per-
suaded to put up the edifice, and, as a last resort, a con-
vict was pardoned out of the State Prison at Sing Sing
on condition that he would perform the work. This
museum was built by John Scudder, who removed his
collection thither from the rooms which he had formerly
occupied in the New York Institution. It remained in
his hands and those of his heirs until 1840, when it was
purchased by P. T. Barnum, whp soon after added to it
the collection of Peale's New York Museum, located in
Broadway near the corner of Murray street, which had
been purchased of- the proprietpr in 1838 by the New
York Museum Company.
In 1825, the erection of the Merchants' Exchange in
Wall street was commenced and finished in 1827, when
the Post-office was removed to the Rotunda, where it
remained until its destruction by the conflagration of
1835. The New York University, the Masonic Hall in
Broadway, nearly opposite the New York Hospital, the
Arcade in Maiden Lane, and many other buildings of
more or less interest were also erected about the same
time.
The approaching presidential election of 1828, rallied
the parties together for a new contest. John Quincy
Adams, the regnant President, was the candidate of the
National Republicans, the lineal descendants of the old
federal party; while the pseudo ''Albany Regency
"party," with the republicans at large, supported the
claims of General Andrew Jackson, the hero of New
730
HISTORV OF THE
^Ji*.VlVv^V^
The New York UniTenity.
Orleans. The friends of the latter at this time assumed
the name of Democrats ; a term which had first been
bestowed on them in derision in the days of the French
Revolution, and which originated, like most of the parti-
san names, in New York city. The city, increased in
1827 by the addition of two wards, was now again under
the rule of Mayor Paulding, who had superseded Mayor
Hone in 1826. The democrats had clearly gained the
ascendency, and in the charter elections of 1826, 7, '8
and '9, succeeded in electing a majority in both boardd
CITY OF NEW YORK. 731
of the Common Council. In the federal election, they
also obtained the victory, and placed their candidate in
the presidential chair of the United States.
This was also Ihe epoch of the anti-masonic excite-
ment, arising from the abduction and supposed murder,
in 1826, of William Morgan, a recreant Mason of Bata-
via, who had threatened to expose the secrets of the fra-
ternity. This charge was soon converted into a political
weapon, a combination was formed against the Masons,
at this time a large and flourishing society, the most
extravagant rumors of diabolical practices in their secret
conclaves were put in circulation, and at the elections of
1827, the people, forgetting the ancient party divisions,
ranked themselves as Masons or anti-Masons at the polls.
The persecution of the luckless society was fanatical in
the extreme ; a number of prominent papers opened a
crusade against it, public meetings were held at which
seceders from its ranks denounced it as the sum and sub-
stance of all wickedness, and a prejudice was excited
throughout the community which paralyzed it for years,
and seemed for a time to threaten its existence. Before
the presidential election, the anti-Masonic colors were
adopted by the enemies of Jackson, while the democrats
ranged themselves on the side of the hunted Masons ,
but, though the latter succeeded in electing their candi-
dates at the polls, their efforts could not save the fkted
society from the unpopularity which long checked its
growth. The fate of Morgan was never positively
known ; a body found in Lake Ontario was declared to
be his by the anti-Masonic party — ** a good enough
Morgan till after the election," the friends of the Masons
732 HISTORY OF TBTB^
called it ; and much doubt there was indeed of its iden-
tity. The society became almost a dead letter, and it
is only within a few years that it has revived from the
paralysis and regained its former position.
In the course of the year 1829, Walter Bowne, a mer-
chant of New York, and a prominent politician of the
democratic party, was appointed mayor in the place of
William Paulding. Mr. Bowne was a lineal descendant
of John Bowne, the leader of the Quakers at Flushing,
who had been imprisoned for his faith by the order of
Stuyvesant ; then released by the West India Company,
who would sanction no religious persecution within their
dominions.
On the 7th of April, 1830, an amended charter was
granted to the city, which provided for separate meet-
ings of the two boards, and excluded the mayor and
recorder from the Common Council, giving the mayor,
however, the power of approving or disapproving the
acts of this body. In the course of the following year,
the Fifteenth Ward was added to the city.
New political issues arose on the approach of the pre-
sidential election of 1832, and with them new divisions
of party. The workingmen's party, suddenly arising in
the State election of 1830 to secure for mechanics a lien
on the buildings which they had erected for the better
security of their wages and electing Throop as gov-
ernor, then as suddenly vanishing from existence, had
not interfered with the charter elections of the city.
The democrats still preserved their ascendency, electing a
majority in both boards, though enough national repub-
licans were found in the city to insure a warm contest
CITY OP NEW YORK. 733
at the polls. The first steps toward the organization of
the whig party were taken by the latter in 1830, at a
meeting held in the city of New York, at which Henry
Clay was nominated to the Presidency.
The party lines were now distinctly drawn, and for
more than twenty years the people continued to be
divided into the two great sections of Whigs and Demo-
crats. The former, first adopting their distinctive appel-
lation in the charter elections of 1833, rallied at first by
the uame of the Clay party under the banners of Henry
Clay, in favor of a protective tariff together with the
preservation of a national bank ; the latter supported
the reelection of Jackson, who had lately doomed this
bank to dissolution by his veto of the bill passed by Con-
gress to grant it a new charter in 1836, when the first
would expire by its own limitation. The democrats
were everywhere successful, electing Jackson as Presi-
dent and William L. Marcy as governor of the State, and
gaining large majorities in both boards of the Common
Council. In the following year, Mayor Bowne was super-
seded in the mayoralty by Q-ideon Lee, a New York mer-
chant of eastern extraction, notable for having been one
of the pioneers of the leather business in Ferry street.
In 1832, New York, now freed from the periodical
ravages of yellow fever by the strict enforcement of
quarantine regulations, was visited for the first time by
the Asiatic cholera, which raged to a fearful exlent,
almost depopulating the city and creating a universal
panic among the inhabitants. It returned two years
after, modified in violence, then disappeared entirely
until 1849, when it broke out early in the summer, and
734 HISTORY OP THE
raged fearfully until late in autumn. In 1855, it again
appeared, nor has it since wholly abandoned the city,
but remains lurking in its. midst, striking down a few
victims here and there every summer, yet reserving its
force for 5ome future devastation.
One of the most important events in the history of this
era in its bearings upon the city as well as the whole
country, was Hie establishment of the penny press ; an
institution which opened the way for cheap literature,
and, by placing the daily journals within reach of every
citizen, disseminated general knowledge, and tended
emphatically to make of our people what they are now
acknowledged to be — the greatest reading nation of any
on the globe.
At this time, there were about fifty daily, weekly,
semi- weekly and monthly journals in New York. Fore-
most among these were the Commercial Advertiser , the
oldest of the city papers, at this time under the charge
of Col. William L. Stone ; the Evening Post, edited by
William Coleman ; the Morning Courier of James Wat-
son Webb and the New York Enquirer of Mordecai M.
Noah, blended in 1829 into the Courier and Enquirer ;
the Journal of Commerce, commenced in 1827 under the
editorship of David Hale ; the Standard, edited by John
I. Mumford, and the Spirit of the Times, just issued by
William T. Porter. The New York Mirror, edited by
George P. Morris, in which N. P. Willis was first attract-
ing public attention by a series of piquant European
letters, and the Knickerbocker Magazine, commenced in
1833 under the auspices of Peabody and subsequently
sold by him to Louis Gaylord Clark and Clement M.
CITY OF NEW YORK,
735
Church of the Messiah in Broadway.
Edson, were the only literary papers of the city. In
these, Irving, Cooper, Paulding, Bryant, Simms, Fay,
and a host of others, now well-known veterans in the
literary world, made their first essays as candidates
for public favor, and won an earnest of their future
laurels.
The dailies were sixpenny journals, and were distri-
buted to regular subscribers. Newsboys were unknown,
and though, upon the occurrence of some unusual event,
736 HISTORY OF THE
a hundred extra copies were sometimes struck off in
view of a possible outside demand, the chances for the
sale of these were so hazardous, that few of the dis-
tributors -cared to take the trouble and responsibility of
ofifering them for sale. On the 29th of October, 1832,
the New York Globe, a two-cent paper, was issued by
James Gordon Bennett, the present editor of the Herald,
who had been for several years connected with the
National Advocate and the Courier and Enquirer; but
the experiment proved unsuccessful, and the paper
expired just one month after the date of its birth.
The idea of the possibility of a penny paper fii-st
originated in the brain of Dr. Horatio David Sheppard,
a young medical student, rich in hopes but lacking in
money, who vainly endeavored to persuade his friends
of the feasibility of the scheme. Conyinced as he was
that a spicy journal, offered everywhere by boys at the
low price of one cent, would be bought up by the crowd
with avidity, he found the idea scouted by all the jour-
nalists of the city to whom he in turn applied, and when
he finally succeeded in prevailing upon Horace Greeley "
and Francis Story, who were on the point of setting up
a printing establishment, to print his paper and give him
credit for a week, he could only secure their cooperation
by fixing the price at two cents per copy. On the 1st
of Jainiary, 1833, he issued the Morning Post, his pro-
jected paper, in the midst of a violent snow-storm, which
checked the sale and disheartened the few newsboys
engaged in the enterprise. At the end of the first
week, he met the promised payment, during the second,
his receijats scarcely covered half his expenses, and at the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 737
expiration of the third, the young printers, themselves
almost destitute of capital, finding him wholly unable to
meet his engagements, were compelled to refuse him
further credit, and thus to stop the publication of the
paper. Discouraged at his ill success. Dr. Sheppard
abandoned the ranks of journalism and returned to his
profession.
The idea fell into other hands. On the 3d of Septem-
ber, 1833, Benjamin H. Day, who, in 1829, had com-
menced the publication of the Daily Sentinel, which he
afterward sold to George H. Evans, issued the Sun, the
first penny paper ever published in New York. He
soon discovered that he had struck a vein. Sneered at
and despised by its more pretentious contemporaries, the
cheapness of the little paper commended it to the mass,
and ui less than a year, its circulation increased to eight
thousand copies.
Entering the lists of competition with its powerful
rivals without subscribers, and the acknowledged organ
of no party, the proprietor of the new journal struck
upon the method for insuring its circulation first projected
by Sheppard, and, advertising for boys to work for him
at two dollars per week, dispatched them with a
hundred and twenty-five copies each to difiFerent parts
of the city to cry the papers for sale to the passers-by,
with a promise of more at a reduced rate as soon as
these should be disposed of. In the course of two or
three hours, the papers were sold, and the boys came
back for a fresh supply, which was given them at the
rate of nine cents per dozen ; and from this period may
be dated the origin of the race of newsboys, now
47
738 HISTORY OF THE
naturalized in almost every city in the Union. The
experiment soon proved successful ; and the boys made
the business profitable both to themselves and their
employer. Ere long, the other publishers, taking the
cue from this success, published an extra edition of their
papers for the newsboys, while, by way of exchange,
several of the regular distributors of these, finding that
the profits of the boys amounted to more than their
small weekly salaries, set to work to procure subscribers
to the Sun, and to establish newspaper routes as private
speculations.
The most curious fact in the history of this first penny
journal, was the publication of the celebrated '* Moon
Hoax," or Discoveries in the Moon, written by Richard
Adams Locke, at that time editor of the Sun and subse-
quently one of the proprietors of the New Era. This
paper, which purported to be an account of Sir John
P. W. HerscheFs discoveries at the Cape of Good Hope,
taken from the Supplement of the Edinburgh Philosophical
Journal, was written with every appearance of con-
sistency. After disarming suspicion by a scientific
description of an ingeniously-invented telescope by
which these discoveries had been made, the author pro-
ceeded to delineate the geographical features and the
inhabitants of the moon with such graphic power and
show of probability, that the gravest journals swallowed
the bait, and took the account as a historical fact, piqued
as they were at the lucky chance which had thrown the
earliest intelligence of so important a discovery into the
hands of the despised penny paper. One journal,
indeed, gravely assured its readers on the day after the
CITY OF NEW YORK. 739
publication in the Sun of the lunar discoveries, that it
had also received the account by the same mail, and was
only prevented from publishing it by want of sufficient
space. The papers throughout the country copied and
commented on the article, keeping its much despised
origin as far as possible out of sight, and, in many cases,
leaving it to be supposed that they themselves had
copied it from the Edinburgh *' Supplement." Sir John
Herschel was everywhere extolled as the greatest dis-
coverer of the age, and enthusiasts even began to
speculate on the possibility of opening a telegraphic
communication with their newly-descried neighbors.
The discovery of the hoax excited universal merriment ;
but the offence was not soon forgotten or forgiven by
the cheated contemporaries of the paper which had
issued the canard. In 1838, Mr. Day disposed of the
Sun establishment to Moses Y. Beach for thirty-eight
thousand dollars, in whose possession it now remains.
Stimulated by the success of this enterprise, in 1834,
William J. Stanley, Willoughby Lynde, and Billings
Hayward, commenced the publication of a second penny
paper called the Transcript. This proved tolerably suc-
cessful, and was continued until 1839. Soon after its
publication, the Moon was issued by George H. Evans,
the printer and publisher of the Working Meiis Advocate.
This, which was also a penny paper, survived but two or
three years. The fourth penny paper, the Morning Star,
was published soon after by Lincoln & Simmons ; but
this proved a failure, as did also the Morning Dis-
patch^ published in 1839, by Day, the former proprietor
of the Sun, and edited by H. Hastings Weld.
740 HISTORY OF THE
At this time, some of the best known journalists of
the present day made their debut in the ranks of their
profession. On the 22d of March, 1834, Horace Gree-
ley, Jonas Winchester, and E. Sibbett, commenced the
publication of the New Yorker, printed at first on a large
folio sheet, and afterward in two forms, folio and quarto,
the former at two and the latter at three dollars a year.
Tliis paper, though literary in its general character,
leaned strongly to the side of the whig party. Park
Benjamin was an occasional contributor to its columns,
and in 1840 Henry J. Raymond, the present editor of
the New York Times, then a recent graduate of Burling-
ton College, Vermont, began his editorial career upon a
salary of eight dollars per week. On the 6th of May,
1835, the New York Herald made its appearance as a
two-cent paper, under the auspices of James Gordon
Bennett and Anderson & Smith, a printing firm in Ann
street. A few months after, the oflBce of the paper,
together with the whole printing establishment, was
destroyed by fire ; upon which Anderson and Smith
withdrew from the firm, leaving the paper in the charge
of Bennett, who has ever since retained absolute control
of its columns. In June of the same year, the New
York Express was first issued by James and Erastus
Brooks, and on the 10th of April, 1841, the Tribune
appeared as the avowed organ of the whig party, edited
by Horace Greeley with the assistance of Henry J. Ray-
mond. This was a daily penny paper, about one-third
the size of the present Tribune. In the ensuing July,
Greeley formed a partnership with Thomas McElrath,
and soon after merged the New Yorker, together with
CITY OF NBW YORK. 741
the Log Cabin, a small paper which he had issued during
the Harrison campaign, into the Weekly Tribune, Ray-
mond quitted the paper two years after to form a
connection with the Courier and Enquirer, which he
maintained for several years ; then, on the 18th of Sep-
tember, 1851, issued the first number of the N. Y. Daily
Times, at first a penny sheet, which, the following
year, was doubled in price and size, and thus placed on a
par with the most prominent of the rival dailies.
At the time of the establishment of the N. Y. Tribune,
a hundred periodicals and twelve daily papers were
published in the city of New York. Of these, the
Commercial Advertiser, Courier and Enquirer, New York
American, Express, and Tribune, supported the whigs ;
the Evenifig Post, Journal of Commerce, Sun, and Herald,
inclined to the democratic party, and the Signal, Star,
and Tatler were neutral. The Commercial Advertiser,
was then, as now, the oldest journal in the city, having
been first issued on the 9th of December, 1793. Next
was the Evening Post, which, commenced as a federal
paper in 1800, had, in 1830, espoused the cause of the
democratic party.
The year 1835 will long be remembered as the era of
the most fearful conflagration that ever devastated the
city of New York. The fire broke out on the night of
the 16th of December, in the lower part of the city.
The night was intensely cold — colder than any that had
been known for more than half a century ; the little water
that could be obtained froze in the fire-hose before it
could be used, the buildings were mostly old and wooden ;
in short, everything favored the work of destruction.
742
HISTORY OP THE
The flames raged fiercely for three days, completely lay-
ing waste the bushiess part of the city, and consuming
648 houses and stores with $18,000,000 worth of pro-
perty ; among which were the marble Exchange in Wall
street, hitherto deemed fire-proof, and the South Dutch
Church in Garden street. Some buildings were finally
blown up by gunpowder by order of the mayor, and the
work of ruin was thus arrested. But the destruction had
been fearful, and not less terrible were the consequences.
Unable to meet the heavy demands of the sufferers, the
insurance companies unanimously suspended payment,
and the city seemed almost beggared at a blow.
Close upon this calamity followed the commercial
distress of the winter of 1837, which succeeded the sus-
*j^Wi**^#»-'.* - .
Wall street lookin^^ toward Broadway.
CITY OF NEW YORK. 743
pension of the United States Bank. For a time, the
business world seemed utterly paralyzed, bankruptcy
followed bankruptcy in quick succession, and ere long
the banks of the State unanimously suspended payment
for one year, having been authorized to do so by the
State legislature* But the elasticity of the city was not
long depressed by these misfortunes, a reaction took
place before many months had passed, and business
revived more briskly than before.
Cornelius W. Lawrence was at this time mayor of the
city, for the first time elected to the office by the votes
of the people in April, 1834, in conformity with a recent
amendment to the State Constitution. Mr. Lawrence
was the candidate of the democratic party, which still
retained its ascendency in the politics of the city. Two
new parties had recently arisen ; the native American,
whose policy it was to exclude all foreigners from a voice
in political afiFairs ; and the equal rights or agrarian
party, which, crystallizing in 1829 through the influence
of the lectures of Frances Wright, then on her second
visit to the country, had grown into a powerful faction,
and now aspired to the leadership of the democratic
party, from whose ranks it had first sprung. This name
was also claimed by the Tammany party. The two fac-
tions assembled together at the primary meetings at
Tammany HaU, the acknowledged democratic head-
quarters, each assuming precedence in the councils of the
party, and acenes of violence often ensued. A curious
accident fastened the name of '* loco foco" on the friends
of equal rights, a name which afterward came to be
applied to the whole democratic party.
744 HISTORY OP THE
Logo foco matches — an outgrowth from the phospho-
rized splinters with their accompanying vial of acid and
cotton which, in 1825, had superseded the ancient tinder-
box, with its flint and steel — had recently come into use
with the penny newspapers, and were still regarded as a
novelty by the community at large. At a ratification
meeting held in Tammany Hall in 1835, at which the
Tammany men, finding themselves in the minority,
suddenly turned oflF the gas and left the assembly in
darkness, a box of the newly invented matches was
opportunely produced by the opposite party, which was
henceforth derisively styled '*loco foco" by its oppo-
nents. The faction, however, accepted the name, and,
idealizing it into an emblem of promptitude, proudly
wore it as a badge of honor, and it was not long before
the once despised nickname was adopted and acknow-
ledged by the whole democratic party. It is a curious
fact that most if not all of the party appellations which
have served at various times to distinguish the poUtics
of the country first originated in this city — republican,
federalist, whig, democrat, loco foco, and many more.
The Sixteenth Ward was created in 1835, as was also
the Seventeeth during the following year. At the spring
election of 1837, Aaron Clark was elected mayor by the
whigs, who also succeeded in gaining majorities in both
boards of the Common Council. The election of the fol-
lowing year was attended with the same result, but in
the spring of 1839, Mr. Clark, who had been for the
third time nominated by his party to the mayoralty, was
defeated by Isaac L. Varian, the candidate of the demo-
crats, who carried twelve wards out of the seventeen by
CITY OF NEW TORE. 745
small majorities. Mr. Varian retained his office until
1841, when he was succeeded by Robert H. Morris, who
was elected by the stiU triumphant democratic party.
On the 23d of April, 1837, the attention of the citizens
was aroused by a new event, which was fraught with
interest to the mercantile portion of the community —
the arrival from England of the steamships "Sirius"
and " Great Western," the first ocean steamers ever as
yet seen in the harbor of New York. This new bond
of union between the Old World and the New was hailed
with an enthusiasm scarcely equalled by that displayed
on the late announcement of the success of the Atlantic
cable, and schemes were at once projected by the busy
speculators for the establishment of a line of steamers
between the continents, which were realized a few years
after by the Oimard and the Collins lines.
The spring election of 1835 decided another important
event in the annals of the city. The Manhattan Works
had long since be.en voted a failure, but though various
schemes had been from time to time devised for bringing
water into the city from the Bronx and various other
rivers in the suburbs, nothing had been accomplished,
and the people had been forced to return to the wells
and pumps of olden times. But the growth of the city
had now rendered it impossible to be longer delayed, and
after much consideration, a plan for constructing an
aqueduct from the Croton River was approved by the
corporation, and the question of -"Water" or **No
Water" submitted to the people at the following
election, and decided in the affirmative by a large
majority, though those were not wanting who bewailed
746
HISTORY OF THE
High Bridge — Croton Aqaednct.
the extravagance of the measure, and thought that the
water which had served their ancestors would answer
very well for the present generation. The popular ver-
dict rendered, the Croton Aqueduct was at once com-
menced at a distance of forty miles from the City Hall
and about five miles from the Hudson River, where a
dam was thrown across the Croton River, creating a
pond five miles in length, covering an area of four hun-
dred acres and containing 500,000,000 gallons of water.
From this dam, the aqueduct proceeded, now tunneUing
through solid rocks, then crossing valleys by embank-
ments and brooks by culverts until it reached the Harlem
CITY OF NEW YORK.
747
River, which it crossed by the magnificent High Bridge,
built of stone, 1,450 feet long, with fourteen piers, eight
of eighty feet and six of fifty feet span, one hundred and
fourteen feet above tide water to the top, at a cost of ^
$900,000. From this bridge, at the foot of One Hun-
dred and Seventy-fourth street, the aqueduct proceeded
to the Receiving Reservoir at the corner of Eighty-sixth
street and Sixth Avenue, covering thirty-five acres, and
containing 150,000,000 gallons, whence the water was
conveyed to the Distributing Reservoir on Murray HiU,
Croton Reservoir, on Fifth Avenue, between Fortieth and Forty-second Streets.
of a capacity of 21,000,000 gallons, and thence distri-
buted .by means of iron pipes through the city. The
work progressed rapidly. On the 4th of July, 1842, the
water was let into the reservoir, and the event was cele-
brated by an imposing procession. But these immense
748 HISTORY OP THE
reservoirs have since grown too small for the increasing
wants of the city ; and a mammoth reservoir is now in
progress of construction in the new Central Park of a
capacity exceeding any other in existence.
Next came the Magnetic Telegraph, first opened to
the New Yorkers through the New York, Philadelphia
and Washington line, constructed in 1845 — the second
in the United States, the first having been constructed
in 1844 between Washington and Baltimore. In the
following year, a line was opened between Boston and
New York, and another the year after, between New
York and Albany. Others followed in quick succession,
and New York was soon placed within speaking distance
of the chief cities of the Union.
On the 19th of July, 1845, another great fire, second
only in its ravages to that of 1835, broke out in New
street in the vicinity of Wall, and burned in a southerly
direction to Stone street, laying waste the entire district
between Broadway and the eastern side of Broad street,
and consuming several miUion dollars' worth of pro-
perty. The explosion of a saltpetre warehouse in Broad
street during this conflagration, gave rise to the vexed
question, "Will saltpetre explode?" which furnished
food for some research and much merriment to the
savans of the day.
In 1844, James Harper was elected mayor of the city
by the native American party, aided by the support of a
large number of whigs. In the elections of the two fol-
lowing years, the democrats were triumphant, electing
WiUiam F. Havemeyer and A. H. Mickle to the mayor-
alty. In 1847, the whigs regained the ascendency, elect-
CITY OF NEW YORK. 749
ing their candidate, William V. Brady. The following
year, William P. Havemeyer was reelected by his party.
In the April election of 1849, the whigs were again suc-
cessful, electing Caleb S. Woodhull as mayor, and gain-
ing a majority in both boards of the Common Council.
In 1849, an amended charter was granted to the city, by
which the day of the charter election was changed from
the second Tuesday in April to the day of the general
State election in November, the term of oflBce to com-
mence on the first Monday of the ensuing January. By
the provisions of this charter, which was to take efiFect
on the first of June, 1849, the Mayor and Aldermen
were to hold their oflBces for two years, while the Assist-
ant Aldermen were to be elected annually as before.
The city at this time consisted of eighteen wards, an
additional one having been erected in 1845. Another
was added in 1851, and the number was increased to
twenty during the course of th^ following year.
The mayoralty of Caleb S. Woodhull was marked by
the occurrence of the Astor Place Opera riot, an event
which created as much excitement as did the notorious
Doctors' Mob in its day. The native American party
was at this time powerful in the city, and a strong pre-
judice existed among the populace against every one
branded with the stamp of foreign birth. To enter into
a discussion of the causes or the justice of this hostility,
would transcend the limits of the present work ; it suf-
fices to say that, at this crisis, the open rivalry between
Edwin Forrest, the favorite American tragedian, and the
English actor, Macready, was made the occasion for a
popular outbreak, and that, on the night of the 10th of
750
HISTORY OF THE
May, 1849, while the latter was performing Macbeth, in
compliance with an invitation, at the newly-erected
Astor Place Opera-house, the mob surrounded the
building and attempted to hinder the performance of the
play. A scene of violence ensued ; the mob, incensed by
opposition, threatened to burn the building, and the
mayor was finally compelled, as a last resort, to call out
the miUtary and order them to fire upon the rioters.
The volley was succeeded by a sharp encounter, in which
the mob assailed the soldiers in turn, wounding nearly
one hundred and fifty of their number, and the contest
Interior of Ctstle Garden in fonntr times.
CITY OP NBW YORK. 751
did not end until several valuable lives had been sacri-
ficed and a host of bitter feelings engendered which time
has not yet been able to efface.
On the expiration of his term of office, Mayor Wood-
hull was succeeded by Ambrose C. Kingsland, the candi-
date of the whig party. Many local events and changes
occurred about the same time, which are of too recent a
date to require more than a brief notice at our hands.
Among these were the visit of Jenny Lind to the United
States, and her first appearance in Castle Garden on the
7th of September, 1850, the subsequent visits of Parodi,
Catherine Hayes, Sontag, Grisi and many other Euro-
pean celebrities ; the new municipal regulations imposed
by the amended city charter of 1849, the trial of the
caloric ship Ericsson, the Grinnell expedition to the
Arctic regions, and the arrival of the Hungarian patriot,
Louis Kossuth, on the 5th of December, 1851.
At the November election of 1852, Jacob A. Wester-
velt was elected mayor by the democratic party. During
the ensuing session of the Legislature, the city charter
was again amended in some important particulars, among
which was the institution of a Board of Councilmen,
composed of sixty members, to be chosen respectively
from the sixty districts into which the Common Council
was directed to apportion the city, in the place of the
long-standing Board of Assistant Aldermen.
The chief event which characterized the administration
of Mayor Westervelt, was the opening of the World^s
Fair for the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, on
the 14th of July, 1853, at the Crystal Palace in Reser-
voir Square, near the Distributing Reservoir of the
752
HISTORY OF THE
Crystal Palace.
Croton Aqueduct. The fairy-like Greek cross of glass,
bound together with withes of iron, with its graceful
dome, its arched naves, and its broad aisles and gal-
leries, filled with choice productions of art and manu-
factures gathered from the most distant parts of the
earth — quaint old armor from the Tower of London,
gossamer fabrics from the looms of Cashmere, Sevres
china. Gobelin tapestry, Indian curiosities, stuffs,
jewelry, musical instruments, carriages and machinery
of home and foreign manufacture, Marochetti's colossal
equestrian statue of Washington, Kiss's Amazon, Thor-
waldsen's Christ and the Apostles, Powers' Greek slave,
and a host of other works of art beside — will long be
remembered as the most tasteful ornament that ever
graced the metropolis. Contemporary with this, was
Franconi's Hippodrome on Madison Square, covering an
CITY OP NEW YORK. 753
area of two acres of ground, an exotic from France,
which flourished for a few months, then disappeared
from the city. Scarcely more lasting was the existence
of the beautiful Palace, which vanished in the short
space of half an hour before the touch of the fiery ele-
ment on the 5th of October, 1858, and fell, burying the
rich collection of the Fair of the American Institute,
then on exhibition within its walls, in a molten mass of
ruins.
This epoch was also marked by a strongly-increasing
appreciation of literature and art, by the advent of many
well known authors and artists from the shores of the
Old World, among others, Thackeray, Rachel and
La Grange ; by activity in business in all directions, and
by every appearance of national prosperity. But these
appearances were but empty show ; the credit system
had been expanded to its utmost limits, the country was
ripe for a commercial crisis, and the unbounded con-
fidence of 1855 was but the deceitful calm which
preceded the tempest of ^57.
4S
CHAPTER XXII.
1855— 13S9.
Mayor Wood's Admiidstntioo— The Central Part-Financial Criiis of 1857-185S-Ncw
Tork in 1869.
On the 1st of January, 1855, Mayor Westervelt was
superseded in office by Fernando Wood, the newly-
elected candidate of the democratic party. Of the
poUttcal events of Mayor Wood's administration, the
reformatory measures suggested by him on his accession
to the mayoralty, the subsequent culmination of these
schemes, and his contest with the State Legislature in
respect to the proposed change in the police system of
the city, we do not purpose to speak here — these stormy
times are still too near our own to belong to the domain
of history, and a discussion of the vexed questions
involved therein, and not yet definitely settled, would
involve us in a labyrinth of details that would far trans-
cend the limits of our work.
The most important local event of this epoch, was the
purchase by the city of the lands of the new Central Park ;
though the origin of this movement dates much further
back. The scheme of seciuing a public park from the
CITY OF NEW YORK, 755
unappropriated grounds of the island, T^as first broached
in 1851 by A. J. Downing, and, seconded by the earnest
recommendation of Mayor Kingsland, was adopted by
the Common Council and referred to the Legislature,
which authorized the purchase of Jones' Wood — a tract
of one hundred and fifty acres of woodland, bounded by
the Third Avenue, Seventy-fifth street, the East River
and Sixty-sixth street ; though, owing to the presence
of some technical flaw, this act was never carried into
effect. The site selected was opposed by many on
accotmt of its remoteness from the centre of the city,
together with the natural disadvantages of the ground ;
and a sharp contest arose between the friends of Jones'
Wood and the advocates of a more central location, both
of whom obtained the passage by the Legislature on the
same day (July 21st, 1863) of acts authorizing the pur-
chase of their favorite locaUties, and thus the matter
stood until the following spring, when the Jones' Wood
Act was repealed.
On the 2d of July, 1855, the commissioners appointed
by the Supreme Court announced their selection of a
tract of rocky ground, two and a half miles long by
half a mile wide, bounded by Eighth Avenue, One Hun-
dred and Sixth street. Fifth Avenue and Fifty-ninth
street, and comprising 776-1% acres. This site was
approved by the Common Council, and the purchase
consummated on the 5th of February, 1856, at a cost of
$5,444,369 90 ; the largest sum ever expended in the
purchase of a public park. The selection was a judicious
one. Lying in the precise geographical centre of New
York Island, at an equal distance from the rivers on
766 HISTORY OF TH^
either side, and from the Battery and Kingsbridget
the new park embraced ground rich in historical asso-
ciations— McGowan's Pass, the scene of the battle of
Harlem Plains ; the old Boston Road of the early Dutch
settlers ; and the fortifications of the war of 1812. The
land was as wild and uncultured as in the days of the
aborigines of Manhattan. The surface was a saccession
of rocky hills and marshy plains, covered with tangled
vines and shrubs, with a sprinkling of fine trees, and a
few little rivulets that, taking their rise in the marshes
at the west of the grounds, flowed eastward in their
course to the river.
The ground purchased, preliminary surveys were at
once made under the direction of commissioners appointed
by the city government, and a plan oflFered by Lieuten-
ant Viele, under whose superintendence the survey had
been made, was adopted for the laying out of the
grounds, though nothing further was done for the want,
of the necessary appropriations. To meet this exigency,
on the 17th of April, 1857, the control of the park was
placed by the Legislature in the hands of eleven commis-
sioners, who were to hold oflSce for five years, and were
empowered to expend a sum of money, the interest of
which should not exceed thirty thousand dollars, to be
raised by the issue, by the Common Council, of stock
having thirty years to run. Upon consideration, the
plan already adopted was abandoned by the new com-
missioners, who advertised for fresh designs, and in
April, 1858, adopted the plan of Messrs. Olmsted and
Vaux as the basis of operations, and at once commenced
the execution of the design. During the session of
4
CITY OF NEW YORK.
)o7
I
OITT OP NEW TORK. 759
1858-9, the northern boundary of the park was extended
by the Legislature to One Hundred and Tenth street, its
natural termination, thus including a high hill to the
west of McGowan's Pass, and increasing the total area
of the grounds to 843 y/y acres.
Although the new Central Park is as yet almost in
embryo, the execution of the plan has proceeded far
enough to prove that, if the completion be equal to the
beginning, the pleasure-grounds of New York will stand
almost without a rival among the cities of the world.
Subject as it is to constant modifications, a detailed
description at the present time would necessarily be
incomplete, and we can but glance at the general
features of the plan, which are too firmly established to
admit of a change. Foremost in the minds of the pro-
jectors of the park, has been the idea of public recre-
ation, and for this the grounds are admirably designed.
Drives, bridle-roads, promenades and footpaths traverse
the park in every direction, winding among the hills in
graceful curves, and intersecting each other here and
there ; four large fields are devoted to the use of ball
and cricket clubs and to military companies for parade ;
and three extensive lakes ornament the grounds and are
enlivened in winter by thousands of merry skaters.
Gymnasiums, museums, music-halls and an observatory
are also in contemplation, and the provision made and
designed for out-door amusement promises to do more
to recruit the health and the energies of the people of
New York than all the sanitary institutions ever erected
in the city. Nor must we forget the Mall, a broad
avenue, two hundred and eight feet in width and a
760 HISTORY OP THE
quarter of a mile in length, shaded by four rows of
American elms and carpeted with closely-cut grass,
upon which all may walk at ease without fear of being
warned off by threatening placards, which, proceed-
ing at its southern extremity from an ornamented
laAvn, terminates in a water terrace, with a fountain
and mosaic pavement, and oflFers a tempting resort to
loungers.
On the north side of the park is the deep McGowan's
Pass, with a high hill at the west, commanding a fine
view of New York Bay and the neighboring shores, and
looking down upon the new Croton Reservoir, which
forms one of the principal features of the grounds. The
Old Reservoir is nearly in the centre of the park.
Between this and the large lake is a rocky, uneven tract
of about forty acres, covered with vines and shrubs, and
remarkable for a natural cave of considerable size, which
is styled the ** Ramble," and is especially designed for
picnics and pleasure parties. A corps of three thousand
workmen in diflferent capacities has been constantly
employed since the adoption of the plan ; and it is
estimated that, in two years, their labors will be finished,
and the whole park thrown open to the public, though
many years must of course elapse ere the design can be
fully elaborated by the hand of Nature.
In 1857, Mayor Wood commenced his second term of
office, having been reelected by his party after a sharp
contest at the previous election. The winter that fol-
lowed will long be remembered as an era of suifering.
For several years, the coimtry had seemed in the full tide
of prosperity. Busmess was flourishing, commerce pros-
CITY OP N EW YORK
761
CITT OP NEW TORK. 763
perous, and credit undisputed both at home and abroad ;
the granaries of the country were overflowmg with the
yield of a luxuriant harvest, and ever3rthing seemed pro-
phetic of plenty. In the midst of the sunshine, a thun-
derbolt fell upon the city. The credit system had been
expanded to its utmost limits, and the slightest contrac-
tion was sufficient to cause the conamercial ruin of the
whole country. This came in the sudden failure of the
Ohio Life and Trust Company, an institution hitherto
regarded as safe beyond suspicion, for the enormous sum
of seven million dollars. This imexpected bankruptcy
awakened the mercantile world to a sense of the insecurity
of its position, and a imiversal panic was the result.
The whole community seemed paralyzed by an utter
want of confidence, the credit system fell to the ground,
carrying with it the fortunes of half the merchants ; busi-
ness was prostrated, failure followed failure in quick suc-
cession, and, ere long, a run upon the banks forced an
act from the State legislature for a general suspension of
specie payments for one year. Nor was this confined to
New York alone ; the panic, originating almost simulta-
neously in the other States, spread through the whole
country, and thence extended across the ocean, involving
the European nations in the general ruin. The manu-
factories stopped work throughout the country, thus
throwing thousands out of employment and reducing
them to a state of utter destitution. A state of terrible
suffering ensued. Crowds of the unemployed workmen
gathered in the Park, clamoring for bread and threaten-
ing to procure it at all hazards, while many more, as
needy and less demonstrative, perished in silence of cold
764 HISTORY OF THE
and starvation. For some time, serious danger was
apprehended from the rioters, who accused the specu-
lators of being at the root of the evil and threatened to
break open the flour and provision stores and distribute
the contents among the starving people, and prompt
measures were taken by the corporation to alleviate the
suffering and provide for the public safety. Many of the
unemployed were set to work on the Central Park and
other public works, soup-houses were opened throughout
the city, and private associations were formed for the
relief of the suffering ; but this aid failed to reach all,
and many perished from sheer starvation, almost within
sight of the plentiful harvests at the West, which lay
moldering in the granaries for the want of money
wherewith to pay the cost of their transportation. Money
aboimded, yet those who had it dared neither to trust it with
their neighbor or to risk it themselves in any speculative
adventure ; but, falling into the opposite extreme of dis-
trust, kept their treasure locked up in hard dollars in their
cash-boxes as the only safe place of deposit. As spring
advanced, business gradually revived, the manufactories
slowly commenced work on a diminished scale, the banks
resumed payment one by one, and a moderate degree of
confidence was restored ; yet it was long before business
warmed into full Ufe, nor has it yet recovered its wonted
vitality ; though it may be that it rests on a sounder
basis than before.
In August, 1858, news reached the city of the suc-
cessful laying down of the Atlantic telegraphic cable
under the supervision of the well-known citizen-merchant,
Cyrus W. Field, and measures were immediately taken
CITY OF NEW TORE,
766
Church of the Annanoiation.
CITY OP NEW YORK. 767
to celebrate the event in a manner befitting the occa-
sion. The splendid pageant of the 1st of September,
with its procession, decorations, and brilliant display of
fire-works, following the pyrotechnic triumph achieved in
honor of the reception of the first message — ^the confla-
gration of the City Hall — ^will not soon beforgotten by the
spectators of the scene. Nor was the suburban celebra-
tion of the next day less imposing, beginning with a tri-
umphal procession in Brooklyn and ending with the
burning of the Quarantine buildings by the turbulent
population of Staten Island — an act which well-nigh occa-
sioned a civil war, and gave rise to a controversy which
has finally been put to rest by the removal of the quar-
antine from Staten Island, decreed during the recent
session of the Legislature.
In 1857, the city received an amended charter, by
which important changes were made in the election of
the boards of Aldermen and Councilmen, and in other
municipal regulations. By the provisions of this charter,
the city was divided into seventeen aldermanic districts,
fi:om each of which an alderman was elected by the peo-
ple once in two years. The Board of Coimcilmen was
composed of six members elected annually from each of
the senatorial districts of the city. The mayor, comp-
troller and counsel to the corporation were elected by
the electors of the city ; the mayor for the term of two
years, the coimsel to the corporation for the term of
three years, and the comptroller for the term of four
years. The other heads of departments were appointed
by the mayor, with the advice and consent of the Board
of Aldermen, and were to hold their office for two years
768 HISTORY OP THB
with the exception of the officers of the Croton Aqueduct
Department, whose term of office was fixed at five years.
These departments consisted of the Finance Depart-
ment, under the charge of the comptroller ; the Street
Department, presided over by the street commissioner ;
the Croton Aqueduct Board, with a president, engineer
and assistant, as its chief officers ; the Alms House
Department, under the charge of the ** Ten Governors,"
elected by the people in classes, two every year ; the
Law Department, at the head of which was the counsel
to the corporation ; and the City Inspector's Department,
the chief officer of which waa the city inspector. The
heads of departments were empowered to appoint and
remove the heads of bureaux and clerks in their respec-
tive departments, with the exception of the chamber-
lain, who was appointed by the mayor with the concur-
rence of the Board of Aldermen, and the chief engineer
of the Fire Department, who had a bureau under the
Street Department, and continued to be elected by the
members as before. The Board of Health was composed
of the mayor and Common Council, with the city inspec-
tor as their executive officer. The Board of Education
was composed of two commissioners from each ward,
elected by the people. By the provisions of the new
charter, the first annual election for charter officers,
school officers, and Governors of the Alms House, was
fixed on the first Tuesday in December, 1857. At this
election, Fernando Wood was defeated by the republican
candidate, Daniel F. Tiemann, the present mayor of the
city of New York.
Beside the municipal government here described, and
CITY OF NEW YOUK.
769
Boman Catholic Cathedral, Third Street.
49
OITT OP NEW YORK. 771
which is now in force, the city has also a distinct county
government, as an organic part of the State. This com-
prises the Fiscal Department, consisting of the Board of
Supervisors and their auxiliaries ; the Judiciary Depart-
ment, composed of the Courts with their executive offi-
cers, and the Recording Department under the charge of
the register and his subordinates.
Far different, indeed, is the New York Island of the pre-
sent day, with its forests of shipping, its costly palaces,
and its seven hundred and fifty thousand bustling inhabi-
tants, from the grassy hills which first met the eyes of
Hudson two hundred and fifty years ago, seeming to
point to the broad river above them as the long-coveted
northwest passage to China and Japan. Then the island
belonged to Nature ; now it has become the property of
Art. The marshes are drained, the forests hewn down,
the fair, broad farms laid out into building lots, veined
by paved streets, and traversed with huge iron pipes,
conveying fire and water side by side through the earth.
Scarce a vestige is left of the primitive island of Manhat-
tan. Within the last few years, the hand of civilization
has attacked Jones' Wood, the last fastness of the former
wilderness, and transformed it from its savage wildness
into a tamed forest — the favorite locality of pic-nics and
musical festivals. The city is fast creeping toward the
northern part of the island ; already it hjvs reached
Yorkville, and, ere long, the villages of Harlem, Bloom-
ingdale and Manhattanville will also be imprisoned in
its insatiable grasp, and the whole island transformed
hito a compact block of buildings.
Nor have the opposite shores and the islands in the
772 HISTORY OF THE
river failed to keep pace with the progress of the city.
On the opposite of the East River lies Brooklyn, the
fourth city in the Union, somewhat overshadowed, it is
true, by the greatness of her mammoth neighbor, with
the thriving villages of Green Point, Hunters Point,
Ravenswood and Astoria stretching to the northward
along the Sound shore ; and, on the west shore of
the Hudson are Jersey City, the Paulus Hook of the
early settlers, the village of Hoboken with its ver-
dant Elysian Fields, and the picturesque heights of
Weehawken.
On Blackwell's Island, in the East River opposite
Yorkville, are the Penitentiary, Lunatic Asylum, Alms
Houses, Hospital and Workhouse. Above this are
Ward's Island, the location of the Emigrant Hospital,
and Randall's Island, the site of the pauper nurseries
and the House of Refuge. In New York Bay, south-
west of the Battery, are Ellis and Bedlow's Islands, both
strongly fortified for the protection of the inner harbor.
A little to the southeast of the Battery lies Governor's
Island, the site of Fort Columbus and Castle William ;
and below this, in the heart of the bay, is the beautiful
Staten Island, the villa of the merchant princes of New
York, commanding the Narrows by Forts Tompkins and
Richmond, with numerous batteries. Here, too, is the
Quarantine Hospital, established by the Legislature in
1821, and ordered to be removed by the same authority
during the session of 1858-59. The opposite shore
of the Narrows is protected by Fort Hamilton on Long
Island, and Fort Lafayette on Hendrick's Reef, about
two hundred yards from the shore. On a mole, con-
CITY OP NEW YORK
773
i
.o*
- '
I^Bi,
•^^Plllv
■■ --. .,*s'' ■ ■■
OITT OP NBW YORK. 775
nected by a bridge with the Battery, is Castle Garden,
the fortress of olden times, and subsequently the well-
known locality of the American Institute fairs, and the
scene of the triumphs of Jenny Lind, Truffi and Bosio ;
now transformed into the depot of the Commissioners of
Emigration. The Sound entrance is defended by Fort
Stevens and other works ; and, in case of a hostile inva-
sion, the city could scarcely again fall so easy a prey as
it did in the days of Petrus Stuyvesant.
Twenty-two ferries connect New York Island with the
neighboring shores. At Harlem River, it is joined more
substantially with the mainland by the Harlem turn-
pike and Harlem Railroad bridges, McComb's Bridge
and the High Bridge of the Croton Aqueduct ; while
Spuytenduvel .Creek, the northern boundary of the
island, is spanned by the well-known Blingsbridge, first
built there of wood by order of the corporation, as early
as the year 1691.
At the Dry Dock, on the northeast shore of the island,
and also on the opposite shores of Long Island, are the
extensive ship-yards of the city. At the foot of Pike
street is the Sectional Dock ; and across the river, at the
U. S. Navy Yard, in the Wallabout, is the Naval Dry
Dock — ^the largest in the world — constructed at an
expense of two and a quarter million dollars.
From the single market Qf the Dutch settlers under
the trees on the Bowling Green, have sprung up eleven
well-filled market-houses — ^the Washington, Fulton, Cath-
erine, Essex, Tompkins, Centre, JeiFerson, Clinton,
Franklin, Gouvemeur and Union — each under the super-
intendence of its respective clerk, who is in turn
776
HISTORY OF THE
•cTBagj-i£iAMiaL«3aaa»
subordinate to a general superintendent, appointed to
office by the city inspector.
The public parks are eighteen in number ; the principal
ones being the City Hall Park, the Commons of the
Revolution ; the Bowling Green and the Battery at the
foot of Broadway, Washington Square, Abingdon Square,
Union Park, Tompkins Square, Madison Square, Reser-
voir Square, and the new Central Park, as yet unfinished.
Cemeteries have been banished in a great measure from
the city ; a few of the old church burial-grounds still
remain, together with the Marble Cemetery in Second
street, from which the remains of President Monroe were
removed in the spring of 1858 to Richmond, Virginia ;
but burials are no longer permitted there, and a city
of the dead is growing up silently along the range of
hills which separated the rival armies previous to the
battle of Long Island.
The public buildings of the city are numerous, and are
mostly in keeping with its wealth and importance.
CUT OP NKW TOBK
777
All Bonis Church, corner of Ponrth Avenue and Twentieth Street.
The spin, whteh forms part of the design of the eharck, hu» not jm, been ereoied.
CITY OF NEW YORK
779
Among the exceptions, we may mention the old Post-
office, in Nassau street, outgrown by the community
many years ago ; and the dilapidated City Hall, which is
already doomed by vote of the corporation, and will soon
be replaced by a more commodious structure. At pre-
sent, the public offices of the city are scattered through
five buildings in the Park ; the City Hall, the Hall of
Records, the Rotunda, the Hall of the Superior Court
on Centre street, and the Chambers street building, occu-
Cnstom House.
780
HISTORY OF THE
pied by the office of the receiver of taxes and several
other of the municipal bureaux.
In Wall, at the head of Broad street, on the site
of the old City Hall and of the first Custom House of
the city, erected in the beginning of the century, is the
Custom House of the city of New York, a Greek temple,
built of marble from Massachusetts, at a cost of nearly a
million of dollars. Adjoining this, in the banking-house
of the old Bank of the United States, is the U. S. Assay
office, an institution of great importance to the com-
merce of the city. On the block bounded by Wall,
William and Hanover streets, and Exchange Place, is
the Merchants' Exchange, built of blue Quincy granite
at a cost of over a million of dollars, directly alter the
destruction of the first in tlie conllagration of 1835.
Lower Arsenal
CITY OF NEW YORK,
781
CITY OF NEW YORK. 783
The old U. S. Arsenal on Fifth Avenue, between Six-
ty-second and Sixty-fifth streets, now included within the
limits of the new Central Park, has been replaced by
another on the corner of Thirty-fifth street and Seventh
Avenue, and is fast being converted into a gymnasium.
The Arsenal, or City Armory, is on the comer of White
and Elm streets, and contains an interesting collection of
Revolutionary trophies.
On the site of the old Collect, on the block bounded
by Centre, Elm, Leonard, and Franklin streets, are the
Halls of Justice, popularly known as *' the Tombs," built
in the Egyptian style of architecture of light granite from
Maine, and finished in 1 838. The open court within its
walls is used as a place of execution of State criminals.
The Essex street prison, the Jefferson Market prison and
the Eldridge street jail, with twenty police station-houses,
make up the complement of kindred institutions.
The venerable New York Hospital still occupies its
original site in Broadway, though rumors are rife that
this ground has grown too valuable to be left longer in
its possession, and that this landmark of olden times
is doomed soon to give place to banks or warehouses.
The New York Dispensary — the ancestor of all the
others — first established in 1790, retains its place at the
corner of White and Centre streets ; from this have sprunS
up the Northern Dispensary on the corner of Waverley
Place and Christopher streets, established in 1829 ; the
Eastern Dispensary, in Ludlow street, on the corner of Es-
sex Market Place, founded in 1834; the Demilt Dispensary
on the corner of Twenty-third street and Second Avenue,
erected by the munificent bequest of Miss Demilt, from
784 HISTORY OF THE
whom it received its name ; the Northwestern Dispensary,
in Eighth avenue, and the New York Infirmary and Dis-
pensary for Women and Children, opened in 1857 under
the auspices of Drs. Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell and
Marie E. Zakrzewska, and notable for being the only
institution in the country in which female medical stu-
dents can obtain the advantages of hospital practice.
All of these institutions receive pecuniary aid from the
State.
On the Bloomingdale Road, about seven miles from the
City Hall, is the Lunatic Asylum of the New York Hos-
pital, a sketch of which, as well as of the Hospital at
Bellevue, we have already given in a preceding chapter.
Besides these, are St. Luke's Hospital on the comer of
Fifth Avenue and Fiftieth street, the Eye and Ear Infirm-
ary in Second Avenue, the Ophthalmic Hospital in
Stuyvesaiit street, the Woman's Hospital recently estab-
lished by Dr. J. Marion Sims, and many other kindred
institutions, supported by public and private charity, the
Home for the Friendless, the House of Industry, various
Orphan Asylums, etc., and many more, the nimiber of
which forbids the catalogue. Among the most interest-
ing of these are the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb,
at Fanwood upon Washington Heights, under the care
of Dr. Harvey P. Peet ; and the Institution for the
Blind, a fine granite building on Ninth Avenue, near
Thirty-second street. Columbia, the King's College of
1764, forced by the upward march of business to quit
its first site at the foot of Park Place, is now located,
under the charge of the venerable Charles King, on the
corner of Fiftieth street and Fourth Avenue, in the
CITY OP NBWYORK. 785
building formerly occupied by the Deaf and Dumb Insti-
tution. On Washington Square is the New York Uni-
versity, founded in 1831 ; a fine edifice of West-
chester marble, built in the English collegiate style of
architecture with a central chapel with wings flanked by
towers, reputed to be one of the most beautiful of the
kind in America.
On the corner of Twenty-third street and Lexington
Avenue is the Free Academy, founded in 1848 under the
charge of Prof. Horace Webster, by virtue of an act of
the Legislature, passed the year before, and notable for
being the first institution established in the country for
the purpose of extending a university education, free of
charge, to the pupils of the public sdiools. Near this,
on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Twenty-third street,
is the College of Physicians and Surgeons, founded in
1807. In Fourteenth street, between Irving Place and
Third Avenue, is the University Medical 'School ; and at
No. 90 East Thirteenth street is the New York Medical
College, also occupied by the College of Pharmacy. All
of these institutions have fine libraries and museums
attached.
Three theological seminaries are located in the city —
the Union Theological Seminary, founded in 1836, in
University Place near Washington Square ; the General
Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, on the
corner of Twentieth street and Ninth Avenue, near the
shores of the North River ; and the Seminary of St.
Francis Xavier, a Roman Catholic Institution, at No. 39
West Fifteenth street.
The libraries of the city are numerous and worthy of
60
786 HISTORY OP THB
notice. The only free library now open to the public, is
the Astor, in Lafayette Place, between Fourth street and
Astor Place, erected by means of a bequest of $400,000
made by John Jacob Astor in 1839, and dating from his
death, which took place in 1848 ; $76,000 of which
were to be appropriated to the erection of the edifice,
$120,000 ta the purchase of books, and the remaining
$205,000 to be invested in a permanent fund for the
support of the institution. The building was completed
and first opened to the public in 1854, with a collection
of eighty thousand volumes, under the superintendence
of Dr. Joseph G. Cogswell. The building has since been
doubled in size and the collection increased to more than
one hundred thoufend volumes by the munificent dona-
tion of Wm. B. Astor, the son of the founder. The
edifice is in the style of the royal palaces of Florence,
and is composed partly of brown cut stone and partly of
brick ; in point of convenience and adaptation to the
purposes for which it was designed, it is imsiu^passed by
any in the country.
The Society Library, founded in 1754, the history of
which we have sketched elsewhere, is located in Uni-
versity Place, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets, in
a spacious edifice, with a collection of over forly
thousand volumes, and is under the charge of John
MacMullen.
Next in order comes the library of the New York
Historical Society, founded in 1804, and now located in a
tasteful stone edifice in Second Avenue, comer of
Eleventh street, with a library of thirty thousand
volumes, a choice collection of coins and curiosities, and
CITY OF NEW YORK. 787
a fine gallery of pictures from well-known artists, com-
prising many valuable histoi-ical portraits. This library
is under the charge of George II. Moore.
In the Clinton Hall building, once the Astor Place
Opera House, is the library and reading-room of the
Mercantile Library Association, organized in 1836 with
a collection of seven hundred volumes, for the purpose
of affording the advantages of a circulating library and
reading-room to the merchants' clerks of the city, and
thus inciting them to mental cultivation. The experi-
ment, doubtful at first, has proved eminently successful ;
the library now contains a collection of nearly fifty
thousand well-selected volumes, while the reading-room
is W(?ll supplied with the different periodicals of the day,
and courses of instruction in the languages, book-keeping,
music and drawing, given at a moderate charge to the
members of the association, place the means of a useful
education within their reach, and, by inducing them to
employ their leisure to advantage, thus further the
original design of the society. S. Hastings Grant is the
librarian of the institution.
Beside these, are the Apprentices' Library, with a
collection of eighteen thousand volumes, designed for the
use of young mechanics ; the library of the American
Institute, founded in 1833, and containing about eight
thousand volumes ; the library of Columbia College, with
a collection of twenty-five thousand volumes ; the New
York City Library, containing two thousand volumes,
the Printers' Free Library, with three thousand vohimes;
the library of the Union Theological Seminary, with
twenty-four thousand volumes ; the hbrary of the New
788
HISTORY OF THE
York Institute, with six thousand volumes ; the library
of the Free Academy, with six thousand four hundred
volumes, and many others beside, attached to the Aarious
institutions and ecliools of the city.
Cooper Institate.
Kindred with these is the Cooper Institute, recently
erected by the munificence of the well-known citizen,
Peter Cooper, for the purpose of furnishing free courses
of lectures, rooms for debating and other societies, an
I exchange office for literary persons seeking employment,
and a public library for the benefit of the community at
large. This edifice, which is but just completed, is
of brown stone, six stories in height, and is located in
Astor Place in front of the new Bible House. The
CITY OF NEW YORK. 789
original cost of the ground and building amounted to
nearly $600,000 ; the whole, the donation of Mr. Cooper.
Henceforth, the institution is designed to be self-
sustaining from the rent of the stores and oflSces of the
first and second stories ; the third story is reserved for
the specific purposes of the ** Union,'' and the upper
story is devoted to the Academy of Design for Women,
an institution in which the founder takes a lively interest.
But it is useless to attempt to enumerate the costly
institutions which are scattered in such profusion over
the city. Seventy banks and one hundred and six
insurance companies are now in the full tide of successful
operation ; eleven telegraph lines convey messages to
distant cities with the rapidity of thought ; seven lines of
railroad intersect the city ; eighteen steamboat lines ply
between its harbor and the transatlantic, southern and
Califomian ports, and from the half-sheet New York
Gazette of William Bradford, have sprung up three
hundred and fifty-one newspapers, of every class, opinion
and size — a journalistic force unsurpassed by that of any
other city in the world.
Our task is ended. Statistical lists we do not intend
to give, nor shall we trespass upon the limits of that
modern institution, the directory, by further mapping
out the city, with its massive banking-houses, its magni-
ficent churches, its marble-fronted palaces, and its count-
less wealth of commerce, all changing from hour to hour
with such kaleidoscopic rapidity that the picture of to-
day would scarce be recognized to-morrow. It suffices
to say that, in palatial splendor, in gorgeous magnifi-
cence, in lavish display of inexhaustible wealth, New
790 HISTORY OP THB
York may well be regarded as bearing off the palm from
all the cities of the Union. Yet were this, indeed, all —
did her claims to her proud title rest merely upon the
power of gold — were she but the Golden City, the
Venice of the western continent, then might we trem-
ble for her future, sure that the seeds of decay were
lurking in her heart. But far different from this has
been the rdh which she has played in the history of our
country, as her past career abundantly testifies. The
first to practise that religious freedom which the eastern
colonists emigrated from the Old World to preserve, and
to throw open her doors to the persecuted and oppressed
of her sister settlements ; the first to vindicate the
freedom of the press ; the first to enter a practical
protest against the arbitrary Stamp Act by dooming
herself to commercial ruin ; the first to offer up a
sacrifice on the battle-fields of the Revolution, and
the lust to witness the departure of the enemy and to
enter again into possession of the rights of which she had
so long been despoiled. New York has not since falsified
the promise of her youth. Not only has she given an
impetus to gigantic schemes of internal improvement
that challenge the admiration of the whole world — the
steamboat, the Erie Canal, the Croton Aqueduct, and
last, but not least, the magnificent Central Park, which
promises to surpass all others in beauty — not only does
she, by her open liberality, attract to herself from her
sister cities, men of science, of enterprise, of broad
and earnest thought — far-seeing merchants, ingenious
mechanics, artists of every kind, and literary men of the
highest ability, but she has fostered within her own
CITY OP NEW YORK. 791
bosom statesmen, philosophers, inventors and authors
who may well compete with any who have contributed
by thought or works or words to politics, science or lite-
rature. That her venerable coUegfe has sent forth gra-
duates than whom none stand higher in the annals of the
nation, the names of Hamilton, Jay, Livingston, Mor-
ris, Golden, Verplanck, and many more attest ; in the
hterary world, Irving and Cooper have carried ofif the
palm in the region of legend and story ; first in the ranks
of daring projectors stands De Witt Clinton, the father of
the Erie Canal ; and in the line of mechanics, the inge-
nious George Steers has carried ofif the palm from all
competitors, and placed American-built vessels at the
head of any in the world.
We have simply endeavored to chronicle the progress
of the city, to select and briefly make mention of the
most important facts from the mass of rich material
which lies temptingly about us, looking longingly, mean-
while, at tlie accessory incidents which would so charm-
ingly fill up the picture and relieve the dullness of mere
details, yet forced to desist by the conviction that the
task would swell the volume beyond the compass of an
entire library. What we could do, we have done, and
if any of the facts which we have thus collected
and woven together shall suggest to the future historian
the desire to rescue the story of the past career of our
city from the neglect with which it has hitherto too often
been treated ; or shall inspire her citizens with love and
pride of their native or adopted city, and urge them to
perpetuate the memory of a glorious past by a still more
glorious future, and to make their chosen home the
02 HISTORY OP THE
• «. .ij
Empire City in truth, not only of wealth, but of science,
of learning, of art, of all that can elevate and beautify
humanity, we shall feel that we have not labored in
vain.
The future destiny of New York rests with the pre-
sent generation ; their verdict must decide whether she
will patiently bear the name of the Golden City, by some
so tauntingly bestowed upon her, or vindicate herself,
not only by past proof but by present action. That it is
in her power, through her immense resources, her bound-
less wealth, her buoyant elasticity, her composite popu-
lation, the vast array of talent which lies at her disposal,
and most of all, by the breadth and comprehensiveness
of the character of her people, to mold herself into
what she will — to become the Athens of America, the
centre of culture and of art — ^must be evident to all.
Her fate is in her own hands ; whether her future fame
is to rest on marble palaces or erudite universities — on
well-filled warehouses or wealth of brain, she alone can
decide. Let her but choose the latter position — let her
l)ut expend her wealth, regardless of outside display, in
fostering talent, in encouraging art, in attracting to her-
self by liberal patronage the intellectual power of the
whole country, in endowing universities, and in develop-
ing the mental resources of her own citizens, not by a
lavish expenditure of money alone, but by a judicious
and eflScient system of public instruction, carefully
superintended in its smallest details, and the time is not
far distant when she will be cordially acknowledged,
both by friends and foes, as the Empire City, not only
of the Union but also of the World !
APPENDIX.
Notes A and B.
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
Gbomb, th« Second, by the grace of Qod, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Ung, defender el
the faith, etc. To ail whom these present ietters shall come, greeting :
Whereae^ on the twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred
dghty and six, Thomas Dongan, then Uentenant-goTernor and vice-admiral of New Yorlc, and its
dependencies^ under our predecessor, James (the second), then Idng of England, etc., did make and
execute a certain grant, or instrument in writing, under the seal of the prorince of New York, in
these words following :
1. Thomas Dongan, lieutenant-goremor and vice-admiral of New Tork and its dependeneiee,
under his majesty James (the second), by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France, and Ire-
land, king, defender of the faitli, supreme lord and proprietor of the colony and province of New
Torlc, and its dependencies in America, etc To all to whom tills shall come, aendeih greeting ."—
Where"ay the city of New York, Is an andent city within the said province, and the citlsens of the
said city have anciently been a body politic and corporate ; and the cltixens of the said city have
held, used, and eqjoyed, as well within the same, as elsewhere, within the said province, divers and
sundry rights, liberties, privileges, franchises, free customs, prefimlnences, advantages. Jurisdictions,
emoluments, and immunities, as well by prescription as by charte**, letters patent, grants, and con-
firmations not only of dive: s governors and commanders-in-chief, in the said province, but also of
several governors, directors, generals, and commanders-in-chief, of the Nether Dutch nation, whilst
the same was, or has been under their power and subjection. And whereae^ divers lands, tene-
ments, and hereditaments, Jurisdictions, liberties, immunities, and privileges, have heretofore been
g.ven and granted, or mentioned to be given or granted, to the cltiiens and inhabitants of the saii
c ty, sometimes by the name of schout, burgomasters and schephens of the city of New Anwter-
dan; and sometimes by the name of the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the city of Neur
York ; ifomet'mes by the name of the mayor, aldermen, and sheriff of the city of New York ; somc-
tinie- by the name of the mayor and aldermen of the city of New York; and by divers other naaira,
as by their several letters patent, charters, grants, writings, records and muniments, amongst other
things, may more fully appear. And wkereae^ the citlsens and inhabitants of the said city have
erected, built and appropriated, at their own proper costs and diarges, several public buildings,
accommodations, and conveniencles for the said city. That ia to t*ty^ the city hall, ev stat-house,
with the ground thereunto belong'ng, two market-houses, the bridge Into the dock, the wharves or
iocks, with their appurtenances, and the new burial-place without the gate of the city ; and have
established and nettled one fur y from the wald city of New York to Long Island, fo»th* acoommo*-
latlon and convenience of pnitsengers, the said citlsens and travellers.
794 APPENDIX.
And iohsrsas, several of the inhabUuuts of the said citj, and of Manhattan's Ifland, io beU
ttom and nilder his most sacred majesty respectiveljTf as well by seTeral and respective lett* a
patents, grants, charters, and coaveyanees, made and granted by the late Mentenants, goremoia,
or commanders-in-chief, of the said province, as otlierwise, several and respective measaagcs, lao^
tenements, and hereditaments, npon Manliattan's Island, and in the city of New York, aforesaid^
and as well as the said mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said dty, and their snecessors, as
also, the inhabitants of the said Manhattan's .jland, and the dty of New York, aforesaid, and their
heirs and assigns respectively, may hold, exercise, and 9a^oy, not only sndi and the same iib«rt!«i,
privileges, and fhuichlses, rights, royalties, f.ee customs. Jurisdictions, and Immanlties. astbey have
anciently had, used, held, and ei^oyed ; but also such publie bvUdings, aooommodationa, coovenS-
ences, messuages, tenements, lands, and hereditaments, in the said city of New To k, and n^n
Manhattan's Island aforesaid, which, as aforesaid, have been by the dtkicos and inhabiiaata
erected and bnilt, or which have, ss aforesaid, been htid, ei^oyed, granted, and conveyed nnto
them, or any of them, respectively.
2. Enow ye, thtr^re^ That I, the said Thomas Dongan, by virtue of the commission and autho-
rity unto me given, and power in me residing, at the humble petition of the now mayor, ahlcrmen,
and commonalty of the said city of New Yoric, and for divers other good causes sad oonslderatieos,
me thereunto moving, have given, granted, ratified, and confirmed, and by tlMse presents, for and
on the behalf of his most sac. ed mi^jesty aforesaid, his heirs, snccessors, and assigns, do give, grant,
ratify, and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of tbe said dty, all and every
such and the same liberties, privileges, fhinchises, rl^ts, royalties, firee eostoms, jwtodlctioas, and
immunities, which they by the name of the mayor and commonalty, or otherwise, have andeoUy <
bad, held, used, or ei^Joyed. Provided alway*^ That none of the said Ubert es, priTlIefcs, fl^n-
chlses, ri^ts, firee customs, Jurisdictions, or imsBunities be inconsistent with, or repugnant to the
laws of hb majesty's kingdom of Ikigland, or any other the laws of the General Assembly of this
province ; and the aforesaid public buildings, accommodations, and convenleece In the said dty.
That U io soy, The aforesaid city hall, or sut-house, with the ground therevnto bdonglng, two
market-houses, the bridge into the dock, the wharves w dock, ttie said new burlal^>lace, and tite
aforementioned ferry, with their and ev^ry of thdr r'ghts, members and appurtenances, together
with all the profits, benefits and advantages which shall or may accrue and arise at all tines here-
after, for dockage or wharfkge. within the said docic, with all and singular tbe renta, tencs, profits,
gains, and advantages which shall or may arise, grow, or accrue by the said dty hall, or siat-bouse,
and ground thereunto belonging, market-houses, bridge, dock, buiyingi^ace, ferry, and other the
abovementloned premises, or any of them ; and also, all and eveiy the straets, lanes, highways and
alleys within the said dty of New York, and Manhattan's Island aforesaid, for the public nseand
service of the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the said dty, and of the inhabitants of
Manhattan's Island aforesaid, and t avelle^^s there ; together with ML power, Bcense and authority
to the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, and their succeaors forever, to establish, appoint,
order, and direct the establ'shlng, mak:ng, laying out, ordering, amendbig and repairing of all
streeU, lanes, alloys, highways, water-courses, ferry and bridges, In and tbrooghoot tbe said dty of
New York and Manhattan's Island, aforettaid, necessary, needfUl and convenient for the inhabi-
tants of tbe said dty, and Manhattan's Island aforesaid, and for all travellers and passengers tbo^e :
Provided ahoa/if»j That this said license so as above granted, for the establishing, making, layteg
out of streets, lanes, alleys, highways, ferries and bridges, be not extended, or bo construed to extend,
to the taking away of any person or persons' right or property, without his, her, or their consent
or by some known law of the said provjice. And for the considerations aforesaid, I do Ukewlso
give, grant, ratify, and confirm unto all and every the respective Inhabitants of tbe said dty of
New York, and of Manhattan's Island aforesaid, and the:r several and respective heirs, and assigns,
«11 and every the several and respective messuages, tenements, lands and hereditaments, situate,
lying, and bdng in tbe said dty, and Manhattan's Island aforesaid, to them seve ally and respect-
ively granted, conveyed and confirmed, by any of the late governors, Ueutenants, or commanders-
in-chief, of the said province, or by any of the former mayors and aldermen of the said dty of New
York, by deed, grant, conveyance, or otherwise howsoever: 7b hold to thdr several and respect-
ive heirs and assigns forever.
8. And I do by these presents, give and grant unto the said mayor, aldermen, and eomroonalty
of the said dty of New York, ail the waste, vacant, unpatented and nnappropriated lands, lying
and being within the said dty of New York, and on Manhattan's Island afbresaid. extendiag and
reaching to tbe low-wator mark, In, by and through all parts of tbe said city of New York, and
Manhattan's Island aforesaid, together with all rivers, rivuleto, coves, creeks, ponds, watera, and
water-courses In the said dty and Island, or either of them, not heretofore given or granted, by
any of the former governors, lieutenants, or oommanders-1n-dilef, under their or some of tbdr
hands and seals, or seal of the province, or by any of the former mayors or deputy mayors and
APPENDIX. 795
ftldermen of the said city of New Tork, to lome reepectlre person or persons, late Inhabitants of
the said oltjr of New Tork, or Ifanhattan^s Island, or of other parts of the said province.
And I do by these presents, glra, grant, and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and com-
monalty, of th« said city of New Tork, and their saccessors forever, the royalties of fishing, fowl-
ing, hunting, hawking, minerals and other royalties and privileges, belonging or appertaining to the
city of New York, and ManhatUn*s Island aforesaid (gold and silver mines only excepted), to
have, hold, and enjoy all and singular the premises, to the said mayor, aldermen and coraDtonalty
of the said city of New York, and their successors forever, rendering and paying therefor, unto his
most sacred m^esty, his heirs, successors or assigns, or to such oflScer or officers, as shall be
appointed to .'ocdve the same, yearly forever hereafter, the annual quit-rent or acknowledgment
of one beaver skin, or the value thereof, in current money of this province, In the said city of New
York, on the flvo-and-twentleth day of March, yearly forever.
4. And, moreover,! will, and by these presents do grant, appoint, and declare, that the said dty
of New York, and the compass, prednets and limits thereof, and the Jurisdiction of the same, shall
from henceforth extend and reach Itself, and may and shall be able to reach forth and extend
itself, as well in length and in breadth as in cbrcult, to the farthest extent of, and in, and through-
out all the said Island Manhattan's, and in and upon all the rivers, rivulets, coves, creeks, waters
water-courses, belonging to the same island, as far as low-water mark. And I do also, for and on
behalf of his most sacred mijesty aforesaid, his heirs and successors, firmly enjoin and command,
that the aforesaid mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the city aforesaid, and their successors, shall
and may freely aad quietly have, hold, use, and enjoy, the aforesaid liberties, authorities, Jurisdio
tions, franchises, rights, royalties, privileges, exemptions, lands, tenements, hereditaments and pre>
raises aforesaid. In manner and form aforesaid, according to the tenor and effect of the aforesaid
grants, patents, customs, and letters patenu of grant and confirmation, without the let, hinderance
or impediment of me, or any of my successors, governors, lieutenants, or other officers whatsoever.
5. And also, I do, for and on the behalf of his most sacred msjesty aforesaid, his heirs and suc-
cessors, grant to the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said city of New Yoik, and their
successors, by these presents, that for the better govemutent of the said city, liberties and precincts
thereof; there shall be forevo. hereafter within the said city, a mayor and recorder, town clerk,
and six aldermen, and six assistants, to be appointed, nominated, elected, chosen and sworn, as
hereinafter Is particularly and respectively mentioned, who shall be forever hereafter called, ths
mayor ^ cUcUtmeit, and catnmotiatty of the city of New York ; and that there shall be forever, one
chamberlain, or treasurer, one sheriff, one coroner, one clerk of the market one high constable,
seven sub-consubles, and one marshal or 8ergeant-a^mace, to be appointed, chosen, and sworn, in
manner hereinafter mentioned.
^ And I do, by these presents, for and on the behalf of his most sacred msjesty aforesaid, his
heirs, svecesBors and assigns, declare, constitute, grant, and appoint, that the mayor, recorder,
aldermen, and assistants, of the said city of New York, for the time being, and they which hereafter
shall be the mayor, recorder, and aldermen, and assistants, of the said city of New York, for the
time being, and their successes, forever hereafter be, and shall be, by force of these presents, one
body oorporate and politic. In doed, fact and name, by the name of, the may or ^ aldermsn^ and
ccmmonaUy o/ihecUyqfUew York ; and them by the name of, Uu mayor^ aUUrm^n, and cam-
m<maUff qfthecUifo/Htw York, one body corporate and politic, in deed, fkct, and name; I do
really and frdly create, ordain, make, constitute, and confirm by these presents ; and that, by the
name of, tk4 mayor^ aldermen^ and commonaUy of ths eiiy of New York, they may have per-
petual snocesslon ; and that they, and their successors, forever, by the name of, iKe mayor^ alder'
m&n^ and ovmmonaUy ofih€ dty q/'New York, be, and shall be, forever hereafter, pei^ons able,
and in law capable, to have, get, receive, and possess lands, tenements, rents, liberties. Jurisdic-
tions, franchises, and hereditaments to them and their successors, in fee simple, or for term of life,
lives, or years, or otherwise ; and also goods and chattels ; and also other things, of what nature,
kind or quality soever; and also to give, grant, let, set, and assign, the same lands, tenements,
horeditaments, goods and chattels ; and to do and execute all oUier things about the same, by the
name aforesaid. And also that they be, and forever shall be hereafter, persons able in law, capa-
ble to plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended. In all or
any of the courts of his said msjesty, and other places whatsoever, and before any Judges. Justices,
and other person or penons whatsoever, in all and all manner of actions, suits, complaints,
demands, pleas, causes, and matters, whatsoever, of what nature, kind, or quality soever, in the
same, and in like manner and form as other people of the said province, being persons able, and
In law capable, may plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be
defended, by any lawful ways and means whatsoever; and that the said mayor, aldermen, and
commonalty of the said dty of New York, and their successors, shall and may forever hereafter,
have one common seal to serve for Uie sealing of all and singular Uidr affairs and businesses
796
APPENDIX.
touching or concerning the lald corporation. And It shall and may be lawful to and for the said
mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the eald city of Nev York, and their succeeeo e, a* they
shall see caoae to break, change, alter, and new^make, their said common seal, when, and as
of :;en as to them it shall seem conreiiient.
7. And/urther^ knoto y«. That I have assigned, named, ordained, and constltoted, and, by the^e
presents, do assign, name, ordain, and constitute, Nicholas Baya. d, now mayor of the said city of
New York, to be present mayor of the said city; and that the said Nicholas Bayard shall remain
aud continue in the office of mayor there, unt'I another fit person shall be appointed and (^wcn in
the said office, according to tlie usage and custom of the sa d city ; and a» in and by these presents is*
h.-reafter mentioned and directed And I have assigned, named, ordained, and constitutetl, and I y
tluse presents, do assign, name, ordain, and constitute, create and declare James Graham. Kh).,
t < be the present recorder of the said city ; to do aod execute all things, which unto the said ofllce
of recorder of the said city doth, or may in anywise appertain or belong. And I have a8>ifned.
named, ordained, and constituted, and by these presents, do assign, name, ordain, const!t»te, cre-
ate and declare John West, Esq., town clerk of the said city ; to do and execute all things which
unto the office of town clerk may in anywise appe tain or belong. And 1 have naired, Ms^^lgwed,
constituted, and made, and by these presents, do assign, name, constitute, and make, Andrew l:onn,
John Robinson, William Beckman, Jolm Delaval, Abraham De Peynte- , and Johannes K'p, e ilzeiu
and faohabitants of the said city of New York, to be the present aldsrmen of the said c'ty. And aleo,
I have made, assigned, named, and const. tuted, and by these presents, do as^lgn, name, cou^t tuii,
and make, Nicholas De Myer, Johannes Van B ugh, John De B own. Tenuis De Key, Ab aham
Corbit, and Wolfert Webber, c'tizens and initabitants of the snid city, to I e 'he pte>ent HssJbUn^s of
the said city. And, also, I have assigned, chosen, named, and constituted, and by these presents do
assign, choose, name, and constitute Peter De Lfinoy, cltlxen and inhabitant of the said city, to be
the present chamberlain or treasurer of the city afo; esaid. And I have acs'gned, named, constitured
and appointed, and by these presents, do assign, name consthute, and appoint John Knight, K«q ,
one other of the said citizens there, to be present sheriff of the said city, and have assigned, named,
constituted, and appointed, and by these presents do asHlgo, name, constitute, and appoint Ja vis
Marshal, one other of the said dtixens there, to be the present marshal of the said city. And I do
by these presents, grant to the said mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said city of New
York, and their successors, that the mayor, recorder, aldermen, and assistants of the said city for
the time being, or the mayor, recorder, and any three or more of the aldermm, and any three or
jore of the assistants, for the time being, be and shall be called the common council of the said
city, and that they, or the greater part of them, shull or mny have full power and authority, by
virtue of these presents, f^om time to time, to call and hold common connetl, within the common
council house, or city hall of the said city : and there, as occasion shall be, to make laws, orders
ordinances, and constitutions. In writing; and to add, alter, diminish or reform them, from time to
time, as to them shall seem necessary and convenient, (not repugnant to tlie prerogative of his most
sacrod majesty aforesaid, his heirs and successors, or to any of the laws of the kingdom of England,
or other the laws of the general assembly of the province of New York,) for the good rule, overvight,
correction, and government of the said city and liberties of the same, and of all the officers thereof
and for the several tradesmen, victoallers, artificers, and of all othrr the people and inhabiUnts of
the said city, liberties, and prec*nct«, aforesaid, and for the better preservation of government, and
disposal of all the lands, tenements, and hered taments, goods and chattels of the said corporation;
which laws, orders, ordinances, and constitutions, shall be binding to all the Inhabttaats of the
69\d city, liberties, and precincts aforesaid ; and which Inws, orders, ordinances, and constitutions,
so by them made, as aforesaid, shall be and remahi In force for the space of three months, and no
longer, unless they shall be allowed of and confirmed by the governor and council for the time belr.g
And I do ftirther, on the behalf of his sacred majesty aforesaid, his heirs and suecessors, appoint
and gant that the said common council of the said city, for the time being as often as they make,
orda'n, and establ'sh such laws, orders, ordinances, and constitutions, as aforesaid, shall or nay
make, ordain, limit, provide, set, impose, and tax, reasonable fines and amerciaments against and
upon all persons offending against such laws, orders, ordinances, and eonstitutions, as aforesaid, or
any of them, to be made, ordained, and established as aforesaid, and the same fines and amerc'a-
ments, ^hall and may require, demand, levy, take, and receive by warrants under the common seal,
to and for the use and behoof of the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said city, and tbdh*
successors, either by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the offender therein. If such goods
and chattelsraaybefound within the said city, liberties and precincts thereof, rendering to snch
offender and offenders, the overplus, or by any other lawful ways or means whatsoever.
8. And I do, by these presents, appoint and ordain the assigning, naming and appointment of
the mayor and sheriff of the said city, that it shall be as followeth. (via.) upon the fteast day of Saint
Michael the Arch-angel, yearly, the lieutenant-governor or conunander-in-chief, tor the time being;,
APPENDIX. 797
by and with the adv'.ce of his council, shall nominate and appoint such pe-son as he shall think fit to
be mayor of the said city, for the year next ensuing : and one other person of suflicient ability aud
estate, and of good capacity In understanding to be sheriff of the said city of New Yoric, for the
yeai- next ensuing ; and that such person as shall be named, assigned, and appointf;d mayor, and
such person as shall be named, assigned, and appointed sheriff of the said city, us aforesaid, shall,
on the foutteenlh day of October then nc-zt following, take their several and respective corpo.al
oaths, before the governor and council, for the time being, for the due execution of -their respective
offices as aforesaid ; and that the said mayor and sheriff, so to be nominated, assigned, and
appointed, as aforesaid, shall remain and continue hi their said respective offices until another fit
person shall be nominated, appointed and sworn in the place of mayor ; and one other person
shall be nominated and appointed in the place of sheriff of the said city, in manner aforesaid.
And urtiur^ That according to the now usage and custom of the said city, the recorder, town
clerk, and clerk of the market of the said city, shall be persons of good capacity and understand-
ing, and such persons as his most sacred majesty afort^said, hb heirs and successors, shall, in the
said respective offices of recorder, town clcik, and clerk of the market, appoint and commisslonate;
and for defect of such appo'iituteuUt, and coniroia«ionuting, by his most sacred majesty aforesaid,
his heirs and successors, to be such peryons as the lieutenant gove nor and commandei -in-chief of
the said province for the tiiue being, shall appoint utid comnilssionute ; which persons so commia-
slonated to the said offices of recorder, town clerk. hdiI clerk of ti.e market, shall have, hold and
eiy'oy, the said offices, according to tlie tenor and cUect of their said commissions, and not otherwise*
Aiul further^ That the lecorder, to^\n clerk, clerk of the market, aldermen, assistants, chamber-
lain, high constable, petty cont-table*, uiid all other officcra of the sa.d city, bcfo:e they or any of
them, shall be admitted to cjiter upon and execute their respective ofi'tccs, fhall be sworn faithfully
to execute the same, before the mayor, or any three or more of the aldermen for tlie time being.
And J do. by these presents, for arid on the behalf of his most sarrf'd njaje}*ty, hia heirs and suc-
cessors, grant and give power and authority to the mayor and recorde. of the said city for the time
being, to administer the same respective oaths to them accordingly. A nd/n 'the^^ I do by these pres-
ents grant, for and on the behalf of his most sacred majesty aforesaid, hi^ heirs and i-ucce:4.4or8, that
the mayor and recorder of the paid city for the time being, and three or mo'e of tlie ald«?niien of the
said city, not exceeding five, shall be Justices and keepers of the peace of his moi^t Micred niajcf'ty, his
helr9nndsucce8Bors,andJu8r.ce8 to hear and dete mine matters and cau«-e^ within tlic i^uld city and I'b-
erlie?, and precincts thereof; and that they, or any three or more of them, whereof the mayor and
recorder, or one of ihem, for the time being, to be there, shall and n.ay forever hercifte . hav*
.^^ power and nu.tiority, by virtue of these presents, to hear and detei-mlne all and ad nmnner of petty
.f larcenies, riots, rontl, oppreKsIonB and extortions, and other trespa.H8e.s and offences wliat<^oever,
^' within the faid dky of New York, and the liberties and precincts aforesaid, trom time to time, aris-
ing and happening, and which arise or happen and anyways belong n|? to the oHcrs of justice:*
^,^ of the peace, and the correction and punishment of the offences aforesaid, and every of litem
.« according to the laws of England, and the laws of the said province; and to do and execute ail
other things in the said city, liberties and precincts aforesaid, so fully and in ample manner, as to
^ , the commlBsIonera assigned, and to be assigned for the keeping of the peace in the said county of
New York, doth or may belong.
9 And, moreover, I do by these presents, for and on the behalf of hbi mo!it sncred majesty afore-
said, his heirs and sncces&ors, appoint, that the aldermen, assistants, high constable, petty consta-
bles, within the said city, be yearly chosen on the feast day of St. Michael the Arch angol, forever,
(viz.) one alderman,one assistant, and one constable for each respective ward, and one constable for
' each divbion in the out-ward. In such public place in the said respective wa ds, as the alderman for the
'^ time being, for each wa d shall direct and appoint ; and that the aldermen, assistants, and petty
constables, be chosen by majority of voices of the inhabitants of each ward; and that the high
constable be appoUited by the mayor of the said city for the time being ; and that the chamberlain
shall be yearly chosen, on the said feast day, in the said city hall of the said city, by the mayor, and
alderman and assistants, or by the mayor or three or more of the aldermen, and three or more of
the assistants of the said city, for the time being. And I do^ by these presents, contltute and
appoint the said John West, to be the present town clerk, clerk of the peace, and cleric of the
court of pleas, to be holden before the mayor, recorder and aldermen, within the said city, and
the liberties and predncts thereof. And farih^r^ do by theee presents, for and on the behalf of
his most sacred majesty aforesaid, his heira and successors, require and strictly charge and com-
mand, that the sheriff, town clerk, clerk of the peace, high constable, petty constables, and all
* other subonlinate officers in the said city, for the time being, and every of them respectively.
Jointly and severally, as cause shall require, shall attend upon the i^d mayor, recorder, and
' aldermen, of the said city, for the time being, and every or any of them, according to the duty of
tbeir respeetlve places, io and about the execoting of such commands, precepts, warrants and pro-
. -. ytT.
798
APPENDIX.
cesses, of them and every of them, as belongeth and appertalneth to be done or execat«d ; and that
the aforesaid mayor, recorder and aldermen, and ever> of them, as Justices of the peace for the
time being, by their or any of their warrants, all and every person and persona for high treason or
petty treason, or for suspicion theieof, or for other felonies whatEoever, and all malefoetors and
dbtur)>er8 of the peace, and other offenders for other misdemeanor*, who eball be apprefaeoded
wiihin the .^aid city, or liberties thereof, shall and may send and coaimit, or cau&e to be sent and
coramUt >d, to the common Jail of the said c^ty, the e to lemain and be kept hi safe custody, bv the
keeptrr uf the said Jail, or his deputy, for the time being, uiitil such offender and offenders shall
be lawfully delivered thence. And J^o, by thei^e presents, for and on the b^alf of his most sacred
majesty aforesaid, his heirs and successors, charge and require the keeper and keepers of the said
Jail fo>- the time being, and his and their deputy and deputies, to receive take and hi safe custody
to keep, all and singular such person and persons so apprehended, or to be apprehended, sent and
committed to the said Jail, by warrant of the said Justices, or any of them as aforesidd, ontll be
and they so sent and committed to the said Jail, shall from thence be delivered by due coune
of lawr.
10. And further^ I do grant and confirm for and on the belialf of his most sacred majesty afore-
snld, hi« heii^ and successors, that the said mayor of the said city, for the time b^g, a^d no other
lacoording to the usage and custom practUed in the said dty of New York, in the times of my
predecesf ore, the several lieutenants, governors, and commanders-in-chief of this province), shall
have power and authority to give and grant licenses annually, under the public seal of tbe said
city, to all tavern-keepers, inn-keepers, ordinary -keepers, victuallers, and all public sellers of wine,
strong waters, cider, beer, or any other sort of liqoois, by retail wiihin the city aforesaid, Manhat-
tan's Ifilnnd, or their liberties and precincts thereof; and it shall and may be lawful to and for the
said mayor of the said city, for the thne being, to ask, demand, and receire, for such license by him
to be given and granted as aforesaid, such sum or sums of money as be and the person to whom
such license shall be given or granted, as shall agree for, not exceeding the aam of thirty shillings
for each license. All which money, as by the said mayor, sliall be so received, ^all be used and
applied to the public use of the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the said city of New To k,
and their successors, without any account thereof to be rendered, made or done to any of the
Uvutenants or governors of this province, for the time being, or any of the.r deput!ea.
11. And hnotD ys. That for the better government of tbe s^d dty, and for the welfare of the
said dttzens, tradesmen, and inhabitants thereof, I do by these presents, for and on the behalf of
bis most sacred majesty, his heirs and successors, give and grant to tbe said mayor, aldermen, and
commonalty of the said dty, and their succeason, that the mayor, recorder, and aldermen, or the
mayor and any three or more of the aldermen, for the time being, shall, tram time to time, and
all times hereafter, have full power and authority, undo' the common seal, to make tnt dtlseoa,
of the saM dty and Tberties thereof; and no person or persons whatsoever, other than nuch f^ee
dtisens, shall hereafter use any art, trade, mystery, or manual occupation, with'n the said dty,
liberties and precinct!* thereof, saving in tbe times of fairs there to be kept, and during the con-
tinuance of such fais only. And In case any person or persons whatsoever, not bdng ft-ee dtizers
of the said dty, as afo- esaid, shall at any time hereafter use or exercise any art, trade, myartery, or
manual occupation, or shall by himself, themselves, or others, sell, or expose to sale, any manner
of merchandise, or wares whatsoever, by retail. In any house, shop, or place, or standing within the
said dty, or the liberties or p eclncts thereof: no fahr being ttien kept in thesnid dty, and Mi»!1
persist therein, after warning to him or them given, or left by tbe appointment of the mayor of the
said dty, for the time being, at the place or places where such person or persons shall so u*c o-
exercise any art, trade, mystery or manual occupation ; or shall sell or expoee to sale any wares or
merchnndlses, as aforesaid, by reUil ; then it shall be lawful for the mayor of the said dty, for \\ie
time being, Xo i-ause such shop windows to be shut up, and also to Impose audi reasonable fine for
!»fch offence, not exceeding five pound;^ for eve>y respective offence ; and the same fine ami flnrs
*o 'mxiofed, to levy and take by warrant under the common seal of the said dty, for the time being,
|j> distress and sale of the goods and cbatteh of the person or persons so offending In the premises,
found within the liberties or precincts of the sa^d dty, rendering to the party or psoiles the
overplus ; or by any other lawftil ways or means whatsoever to the only nse of the said mayor,
nldernien and commonalty of the said dty of New York, and their aucoessoTB, without any account
to be rendered, made, or done, to the lieutenants, governors, or commanders-in-chief of this pro-
vince for the same : Proviffed, That no person or persona shall be made ft^e as aftoresald, but such
as are his majesty's natural born subjects, or such as shall first be naturalised by act of p^nera:
assembly ; or shall have obtained letters of denlsation under the hand of tbe Uentenant gove-no- or
commander-in-chief for the time being, and seal of the province : and that all persons to be mncie
f ee as afo«-esaid, shall and do pay for the public nse of the said mayor, aldermen and commonaKy
of the said city, such sum and sums of money as heretofore hath been used and accustomed i*^ bt
APPENDIX. 799
paid and received on their being admUted freemen m aforesaid: Pro9i<Ud^ It b not exceeding the
fum of five pounds.
11. And ^tiher^ I do by tboM presents, for and on the behalf of his most sacred majesty
aforesaid, his heirs and soecessors, grant to the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said city,
thtkt they and their successors be forcTer, persons able and capable, and shall have power to par>
chase, have, take, and possess in fee simple, lands, tenementa* rents, and otiier pocsessions within
or without the same city ; to them and thdr successors forerer, so as the same ezoeed not Uie
yearly value of one thousand pounds per annum, the statute of mortmain or any other law to the
contrary notwithstanding ; and the same lands, tenements, hereditaments, and premises, or any
part thereof; to demise, grant, lease, set oTer, ass'gn, aud dispose at their own will and pleasure;
and to make, seal and accomplbh, any deed or deeds, lease or leases, eridences or wiitings, for or
concerning the same, or any part thereof^ which shall happen to be made and granted by the said
mayor, aldermen, and conunonalty of the laid city for the time being.
IS. And furth^^ I do by these pnssents, for and on the behalf of his most sacred majesty afore-
said, his heirs and soccessora, grant to the said mayor, aide, men, and commonalty, that they an^
their successors shall, and may forever hereafter, hold and keep within the said dty, in ever}' week
of the year, three market days, the one upon Tuesday, the other upon Thursday, and the other
upon Saturday, weekly forever.
14. And al4o^ I do by these presents, for and on the li^ialf of Us most sacred mi^esty aforesaid,
bis heirs and successors, grant to the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said city, that tier
and their successors and assigns, shall and may at any time or times hereafter, when it to tliem
shall seem fit and convenient, take in, flU and make up, and lay out, all and singular the land-< Htid
grounds In and about the said e ty and Island Manhattan^ and the same to build upon, or muke
use of, in any other manner or way, as to them shall seem fit, as far into the rivers the «of, and
that encompass the same, at low-water>mark aforesaid.
Ift. And I dOy by these presents, for and on the behalf of his most sacred majesty afore^a d, his
heirs and successors, give and grant unto the aforesaid mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the
said city of New York, and their suecessors, that they and their successors shall and may have, hold
and keep, within the said dty and liberties, and precincts thereof, tai every week in every year
forever, upon Tuesday, one court of common pleas, for all actions of debt, trespass, trespass upon
the case, detinue, ejectment, and other personal actions ; and the same 'to be held before the
mayor, recorder, and aldermen, or any three of them, whereof the mayor or recorder to be one,
who shall have power to hear and determine the same pleas and actions, aooording to the rules of
the common law, and acts of the general assembly of the said province.
If. And J dOy by these presents, for and on behalf of his most sacred mivfosty aforasaid, hto
heirs aad successors, grant to the said mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said city of New
York, and their successors, that the said mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the said dty, and
their successors, shaU have and ta^oj all the privileges, fhtnchlses, and powers, that they have and
me, or that any of their predeeessors, at any time within the space of twenty years last past^ had,
took, or eojoyed, or ought have had, by reason, or under any pretence of any former charter,
grant, prescription, or any other right, costom, or usage, although the same have been fo .-felted,
lost, or have been ill-used, or not used, or abused, or discontinued, albdt they be not particularly
mentloi^ ; and that no officer shall disturb them therein under any p« etence whatsoever, not only
for their ftiture, but their present eiUoyment thereof; provided alwsys, tliat the said privileges,
ft^tnchises and powers be not Inconsistent with or'repognant to the laws of his majesty's kingdom
of England, or other the laws the general assembly of this province as afore«ui'd. And saving to his
most sacred majesty aforesaid, his heirs, suoceasors and assigns, and the lieutenants, governors,
and commanders-in-chie^ and other offlce:s under him, and them in Fort James, in or by the dty
of New York, and In aU the liberties, boundaries, extents, privileges thereof, fo.- the maintenance
of the said fort or garrison there, all the right, use, title and authority which they or any of them
have had, used or exercised there ; and also, one messuage or tenement next the city hall, and one
messuage by the fort, now in the possession of Thomas Ooker, gent. The piece of ground by the
gate, called the governor's garden, and Uie land without the gate, called the Icing's farm, with the
swamp next te the same land by the fresh water ; and saving the several rents and quit-rents
reserved, due and payable ftrom several persons inhabiting within the said dty and Island Bf an-
battaa's, by virtue of former grants to them made and given, and saving to all other persons, bodies
poUttc and cerporat«, their heirs, successors and assigns, all such right, title and claim, possessioM,
rents, services, commons, emoluments, interest In and to anything which is theirs (save only the
frandiises aforesaid) in as ample manner as if this charter had not been made.
17. AndfturdUr^ I do appoint and declare, that the incorporation to be founded by this charter
shall not at any time hereafter do or suffer to be done anytliing pj means whereof the lands,
tenemeats er hereditaments, stock, goods or chattels thereof, or in the hands, custody, possession
800' APPENDIX.
of »D7 of the dtizeni of the said city, inch m have been tet, lei. glren, granted o.- eoBected, to
and for pious and charitable uses, shall be wasted or misemployed contrary to the tnut or inteot
of the founder or giver thereof; and that such and no other construction shall be made tiiereof than
that which m«y tend most to adTantage religion, >u8t>ce and the public good ; and to supprew all
acts and contrivances to be invented, or put In use contrary thereunto. In witmetg vkereo/^ I
hare caused these presents to be entered in the secretary's office, axtd the seal of the s^d province
to be hereunto affixed, this seven and twentieth day of April, in the second year of the reign of hfe
most sacred majesty aforesidd, and in the year of our Lord God, one tiiou-ond six hundred ana
ei^ty-six.
THOMAS DONGAN.
By iHrtuSf or under pretext wh«reof, the said dtisens and iahabltaata from the date thereof,
hitherto have held or claim to hold and still do hold, or claim to hold and ei^y, all and singular
the rights, privileges, franchises, preSroinenees, advantages, Jurisdictions, courts, poirera, pi ofits,
immunities, lands, tenements, hereditaments and other the premises therein partleularly uientioued
and thereby intended to be granted. And whereas, the citlsens and inhabitants of the said dty
of New York, besides the several public buildings, accommodations, convei^ences and other things
in the before recited grant or writing mentioned to have been by them erected, built and appro-
priated have, since the making thereof; built and appropriated at their own proper costs and
charges, several public buildings, aecommodatkuM and conveniences, for the said city, that is U>
•ay, the present city hall and Jails, rooms and places for the sitting of courts of justlee and d^am-
bers adjoining, with the giound and appurtenanees thereunto belonging, five market houses, the
present c ane and b idge, with the common sewer leading through the great dock, and a magaiine
or powder house near the fresh water, and several other public buildings and conveniences in the
satd city; and have built the new fierry houses on the island of Nassau for the receptioB of
travellers, with a bam, stables and pen, or pound for cattle. And whereas, our late royal predo>
cessor. Queen Anne, by her letters patent, nnder the broad seal of the province of New York uodr,
bearing date the nineteenth day of April, In the seventh year of her reign, did grant, ratify and
confirm unto the then mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and to their
suecessors and assigns. In these words following, to wH^ Anne, by the grace of God, of England,
Scotland, France and Ireland, queen, defiender of the lUth, etc : To all whom these presents may
in any wise concern, sendeth greeting^ Whertas^ the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city
of New York, by their petition to our right trusty and well beloved cousin Edward Tlseonnt Corn-
bury, our captain-general and govemor-ln-chief; in and over our province <^ New York and terri-
tories depend ng thereon in America, and vice-admiral of the same, etc, preferred in eouncU;
therein setting forth, that they have a right and Interest, nnder divers ancient charters and grants
by divers former governors and commanders-in-chief of our said province of New York, under our
noble progenitors. In a certain ferry fh>m the said oity of New York, ever the East River lo Naasaa
Island (alias LongIi=land), and ftom the said Island to the said city again, and have possessed the
same, and received all the profits, benefits and advantages thereof, for Uie space of fifty years and
upwards ; and perceiving the profits, advantages and benefits usually Issuing out of the same to
diminish, decrease and fall short of what might be reasonably made ef the same, for ttie want of
the bounds and limits to be extended and enlarged on the said Island side, whereby to prevent
tttven persons from transporting themselves and goods to and from the said Island Nassaa (aUae
Long Island) over the said river, without coming or landing at the usual and accustomed places
where the ferry boats are usually kept and appointed, to the groat loss and damage of the said dty
of New York ; have humbly prayed our grant and confhrmatlon, under the great seal of o«r said
province of New York, of the said ferry, called the Old ferry, on both sides of the East Shrer, for the
transporting of passengers, goods, horses and cattle to and fN>m the said city, as the same Is now
held and enjoyed by the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the said city ef New York, or
their under-tenant or under-tenants ; and abo, of all the vacant and unappropriated land, ik^osa
high-water mark to low-water mark, on the s^d Nassau Island (aKas Long Island) lying centignons
and fronting the said dty of New York, from a certain place called the Wall-about unto the Red
Hook, over against Nutten Island, for the better improvement and accommodation of the said
ferry ; with ftill power, leave and license to set up, establish, mi^tahi and keep one or mere feny
or ferries, for the ease and accommodation of an passengers and travellers, fbr the transportatlMi
of themsdves, goods, horses and cattle over the said river, within the bonnAi aforesaid, as they
shall see meet and convenient and occasion require ; and to establish, ordain, and make hy-lawi|
orders and ordinances, for the due and orderiy regulation of the same : The whid> petitloB ve being
minded to grant. Know ye, that of otir especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion we have
given, granted, ratified and confirmed, and In and by these presents, for us, our hein and aao-
cessors, we do give, grant, ratify and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of
Mie dty of New York, and to their successors and assigns, all that the said ferry, called the OM
APPENDIX. 801
ferry, on both side* of the said East River, for the transportation of passengers, goods, borsea and
cattle over the said tiver, to and ft-om the said citj and island, as the same is now used held and
enjoyed by the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York or thdr under- tenant
or under-tenants, with all and singular the usual and accustomed ferriage fees, perquisites, rents.
Issues, profits and other benefits and advantages whatsoever, to the said Old ferry, belonging or
therewith used, or thereout arising ; and also, all that the aforesaid vacant and unappropriated
ground lying and being on the said Nassau Island (alias Long Island) flrom high-water mark to low-
water mark aforesaid, contiguous and fronting the said city of New York, ftx)m the aforesaid place
called the Wall-about to Red Hook aforesaid ; TfuU U to «ay, from the east side of the Wall-about,
opposite the now dwelling-house of James Bobine, to the west side of the Red Hook, commonly
called the fishing place, with all and singular the appurtenances and hereditaments to the same, or
any part or parcel thereof belonging or in any wise of right appertaining ; together with all and
singular the rents, Issues, profits, ways, waters, easements and all other benefits, profits, advantages
and appurtenances, which heretofore have, now are, and which hereafter shall belong to the said
ferry, vacant land and premises hereinbefore granted and confirmed, dr to any or either of them in
any wise appertaining, or which heretofore have been, now are, and which hereafter shall belong,
be used, held, received and eiOoyed ; and all oar estate, rig^t, title and interest, benefit and
advantage, claim and demand, of, in or to the said ferry, vacant land and premises, or any pa:t or
parcel thereof, and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, together with the
yearly and other rents, revennes and profits of the premises, and of every part and parcel thereof;
except and always reserved out of this our present grant and confirmation, free liberty, leave and
license, to and for all and every person or persons, inhabiting or having plantations near the sad
river, by the waterside, within the limits and bounds above-mentioned, to transport themselves,
goods, horses and cattle over the said river to and Arom the said city of New York and Nassau
Island (aliaf Long Island) to and from their respective dwellings or plantations, without any
ferriage or other account to the said ferry, hereby granted and confirmed to be paid or given ; so
always as the said person or persons do transport themselves only, and their own goods and in
their own boats only, and not any stranger or their goods, horses or cattle, or in any other boat :
To hu€6 and to hold^ all and singular the said ferry, vacant land and premises hereinbefore
granted and confirmed, or meant, mentioned or Intended to be hereby granted and confirmed
(except as is hereinbefore excepted) and all and singular the rents, Issues, profits, rights, members
and appurtenances to the same belonging or In any wise of right appertaining unto the said mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and their successors and assigns forever ; to
the only proper use and behoof of the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New
York, and their successors and assigns forever ; to be holden of us, our heirs and successors in free
and common socage, as of our manor of East Greenwich, in the county of Kent, within our kingdom
of England ; yielding, rendering and paying unto us, our heirs and successors for the same yearly
at our custom house of New York, to our collector and receiver-general there for the time being, at
or upon the feast of the nativity of St. John the Baptist, the yearly rent or sum of five shilling,
current money of New York.
And toe do/iirthsr, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion for us, our heirs and
successors, give and grant unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, and their successors,
full and free leave and license to set up, establish, keep and maintain one or more ferry or ferries,
as they shall from time to time think fit and convenient, within the limits and bounds aforesaid, for tlie
ease and accommodation of transporting of passengers, goods, horses and cattle, between the said city
of New York and the said bland (except as is hereinbefore excepted) under such reasonable rates
and payments as have been usually paid and received for the same ; or which at any time hereafter
shall be by them established by and with the consent and approbation of our governor and council
of our said province for the time being. Andtos dofurih^r^ of our especial grace, certain know-
ledge and mere motion, give and grant unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty
of New York and their successors, fUll and absolute power and authority, to make, ordain, establish,
constitute and confirm all manner of by-laws, orders, rules, ordinances and directions for the more
orderly keeping and regularly maintaining the aforesaid ferry that is now kept, or any feiry o-
ferries which shall at any time or times hereafter be set up, established or kept within the bounds
aforesaid, by virtue hereof, or of, for, touching or concerning the same (so always as the same
be not contrary to our laws of England, and of our province of New York) and the same at all tlmeai
hereafter to be put In execution, or abrogate, revoke or change as they In their good dlacrction shall
think fit and most convenient for the due and orderly keeping, regulating and goremlog the said
ferry or ferries hereinbefore mentioned.
And lastly y our will and pleasure Is, and we do hereby declare and grant that these our letters
patent or the record thereof In the secretary's office of our said province of New York, shall be
good and effectual In the law to all Intents and purposes whatsoever, notwithstanding the not true
hi
802
APPENDIX,
aod well redting or mentloolDg of the premlsei or any p«rt thereof; or the ItnilU or boonds tbereof^
or of any ftmner or other letters patent*, or other grants whataooTer made or granted ; or of any
part thereof; by vs or any of oar progenitora, onto any person or persons whatsoever, bodies polltSo
or corporate, or any law or other restraint, Incertainty or imperfection whatsocTer, to the contrary
or In any wise notwithstanding, and although express mention of the tme yearly Talue or certainty
of the premises or any of them, or of any other f^ttts or grants by as or by any of onr progenitors
heretofore made to the s^d mayor, aldermen and commonalty of New Tork, in these preseata, is
not made, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary thereof In any wise not-
withstanding. IntMtimonff whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent, and the
seal of our said province of New Tork to our said letters patent to be affixed, and the same to be
recorded in the secretary** office of our said province. Witnest our right trusty and well-beloved
cousin Edward Vlscoant Gombury, cuptaln-general and govemor-in-chief in and over our province
of New Tork aforesaid, and territories thereon depending In America, and vice-admiral of the
same, etc^ In council at our fort in NewTork, the nineteenth day of April, in the seventh year of
our reign, Annoq, Domimi^ one thousand seven hundred and ^ight.
By virtue^ or under pretext whereof; the said inhabitants and citizens of the dty of New Tork
have held and eqjoyed, or have claimed to hold and enjoy, and still do hold or claim to hold, the
ferry, vacant land, perquisites, profits, privileges, powers and other premises in the before redtcd
letters patent, menUoned and intended to be thereby granted. And whereat^ besides all the afore,
said particulars In the said grant or Instrument made in the aforesaid year of oor Lord one thou-
sand six hundred eighty and six, and in the before recited letters patent of Queen Anne, mentioned or
Intended to be thereby granted the dtlsens and inhabitants of tlie sidd dty of NewTork, have and-
ently held or claimed to hold,use and enjoy divers and sundry other rights, privileges, ft'anchises, pre-
eminences, advantages, Jurisdictions, emoluments, powers, profits. Immunities, lands, ^nements, and
other hereditaments, as well by prescription as by divers grants and confirmations of and firom divas
governors, lieutenant-governors and commanders-in-chief of the said province, by the name of
mayor^ aldermen and eommonalty of the city of New Toric, and by divers other names, stiles
and titles and otherwise.
And uh^reae^ divers questions, doubts, opinions ambiguities, controversies and debates have
arisen and been made as well upon and concerning the validity and force of the said redt«d grant
or writing, dated in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and dghty-dx, and the before
recited letters patent of Queen Anne, as upon all and every the other grants and confinnations of
divers governors, lieutenant-governors and commanders-in-chief, made to our dty of New Tork, as
aforesaid, by reason of the variety of names, styles, titles and Incorporations aforesaid, and by rea-
son that the before redted grant or Instrument, dated In the year of our Lord one thousand six
hundred and eighty -six, and the oUier grants and oonflrmations of divers governors, Heutenant-
govemors and conuuanders-ln-chief, were made in the governors* own names respectivdy, when
they should have been made In the respective names, styles and titles of fbrmer Ungs and
queens, our royal predecessors, under whom they were governors, Heutenant-govemors or oom-
manderi-In-chief respectively, and by reason, as some suggest and say, that the said city, or inhabi-
tants or citizens thereof, never were well, regularly or legally Incorporated, and for want thereof
none of all the said grants, confirmations, instruments or letters patent, hereinbefore mentfamed,
could take effect or operate; and for divers other defects in all, some or one of th'e aforesaid
grants, confirmations and writings ; and also upon the validity and force of the prescription afore-
said. And iokereae^ our well-beloved subjects, the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of our said
dty of New Tork, by thdr humble petition presented to our trusty and well-bdoved John Mont-
gomery, Esq., our captain-general and govemor-ln-chlef of our prorinees of New Tork and New
Jersey, and territories depending thereon in America, and vice-admiral of the same, etc, in counc I,
reciting among other things, that the city of New Tork Is an andent dty, and the dtizens thereof
have andently held and used, and still do use and hold, divers and sundry rights, liberties, privOe^'cs,
franchises, fk^e-customs, preeminences, advantages. Jurisdictions, emoluments, immunities, landi^
tenements, public buildings and heredUaments, as well by the name of (he mayor^ alderman and
oommonaUy of the eUy of New Tork, as otherwise, to the advancement of the said dty In the
number of Its buildings, and Inhabitants, whereby the said dty Is become a considerable seaport,
and exceedingly necessary and useful to our kingdom of Oreat Britain, in supplying our govern-
ments in the West Indies with bread, flour and other provisions ; wherefore they prayed, among
other things, for our confirmation and grant to the said city and corporaUon, by the name, style and
title of the mayor, aldermen and commonalty qf the eUy of New Tork, of all thdr lands, tene-
ments, pubUcbuUdings and heredlUments, wharves, docks, bridges, slips, fenfes, cranes, grants,
charters, rights, liberties, privileges, franchises, firee-customs, preeminences, advanUgea, Jorisdlo-
tions, emoluments and immunities, now and heretofore by them held and ei\Joyed ; and that they
might have the soil four hundred feet beyond low-water mark, on Hudson*s river, from a certain
APPENDIX. 803
creek or kill called Bcstuver^s KUlitie, louthward to the fort, and ft-om thence the same number of
feet beyond low-water mark round the fort and along the Eoat River as far as to the north side of a
certain hill called Corlaer*s hook ; and abo for a grant of such other powens, liberties, franchises,
rights, firee-customs, Jurisdictions, privileges immunities and things as may be needful for the good
rule and government of the said city. And tra, considering that the strength and increase of om*
good subjects, in that oar frontier province of New York docs in a great measure depend upon the
welfare and prosperity of our said city, wherein the trade and navigation thereof arc chiefly and
principally carried on, promoted and encouraged ; and we, affecting the good and happy estate of
our said city, and the steady loyalty and integrity of the inhabitants and citizens thereof, are very
desirous and willing to give encouragement to the said city, inhabitants and citizens, and to remove,
utterly abolish, and wholly take away all and all manner of causes, occasions and matter,
whereupon such questions, doubts, opinions, ambiguities, controversies or debates as aforesaid, or
any other question or doubts may or can arise ; and in order thereunto, we have thought fit, them,
the said inhabitants and citizens of the said city of New York (by whatsoever name or names they
have been or were incorporated, or whether they have been or were heretofore incorporated or not)
Into one body politic and corporate, by the name of tfu mayor, aldemun and commonalty oftht
ciiy of New York, by our letters to make, constitute, confirm, renew and of new to create. AnO
C00, behog also further willing and fully intending and desiring that the said Inhabitants and citizens,
of our said city, by the name aforesaid, should have perpetual succession, and should hold, possess,
and enjoy, all aud singular, the rights, privileges, liberties, franchises, preSminences, advantages,
Jurisdictioos, courts, powe.s, offices, authorities, ferries, fees, fines, perquisites, profits. Immunities,
rents, possessions, lands, tenements and other hereditaments, not only which in the before recited
grants, confij-mations, writings and letters patent are mentioned, or Intended to be thereby granted,
but also, which they have held or claim to hold, by prescription or otherwise, with the alterations
and enlargements thereof and additions thereto, in such manner and form as hereafter is mentioned
and contained, notwltlisianding the before mentioned or any other question, doubts, opinions, ambi-
guities, debates, faults, or Imperfections.
1. Whwejort know yo. That we of our especial grace, certain knowledge, mevo motion, have
willed, ordaLied, constituted, confirmed, given and g-anted, and by these presents for us, our helri»,
and successors do will, ordain, constitute, confirm, give and grant, that our said city of New York be,
and from henceforth forever hereafter shall be and remain a f; ee city of itself ; and that the mayor,
aldermen and commonalty, of the said city, and theh* successors from henceforth forever hereafter
shall be and remain one body corporate and politic, in rc-facto and nomine^ by the name of iJie
mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New I'ork, and them and their^uccessors by the
name of iht mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, one body corporate, in
r^/Ucto and nomine, really and fully, we do for us, our heirs and successors, erect, make,ordaln, con-
stitute, confirm, declare and create, by these presents, and tliat by that name they shall and may have
perpetual succession ; and aUo, that they and their successors, by the said name of the mayor, alder-
men and ocmmonaUy of the city of New York be, and forever hereafter shall be, persons able
in law, and capable to sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto,
defend and be defended. In all courts and places before us, our heirs and successors, and before all
and any th« judges, Justices, ofilcers and ministers of us, our heirs and successors, and elsewhere in
all and all manner of actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes, matters and demands, whatsoever,
and of what kind or nature soever, in as full and ample manner and form as any of our other liege
iubjects of oar said province, being persons able and capable in law, can or may sue and be sued,
implead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, by any lawful
ways and means whatsoever. And aho. That they and their successors, by the name of the mayor,
aldermen and commonalty qf the diy qf New York, be and shall be forever hereafter, persons
capable and able in law to purchase, take, hold, receive, enjoy and have any messuages, houses,
baildings, lands, tenements, rents, possessions and other hereditaments and real estate, within or
without our said province, in fee, and forever, or for time of life or lives or years, or in any other
manner ; and also goods, chattels, and all other things of what'kind or quality soever. And also.
That they and their successors by the same name of the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of
t/ie oUy of New Y^ork, shall and may give, grant, demise, assign and sell, or otherwise dispose of all
or any the messuages, houses, buildings, lands, tenements, rents, possessions and other heredita-
ments and real estate and all their goods, chattels and other things aforesaid as to them shall seem
meet, at their own will and pleasure.
And aUo, That the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, for the time
being, and their successors shall and may forever hereafter, have and use a common seal for sealing
all and singular deeds, grants, conveyances, contracts, bonds, articles of agreements, assignments,
powers, authorities, and all and singular their affairs and things touching or concerning the said
corporation. And by virtue of thwe our letters, It shall and may be lawM to and for the said
804 APPENDIX.
mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of Niw York and their racceason, as they shall see
cause, to break, change and new make the same, or any other common seal, when, and as often as
to them It shall seem convenient.
2. And we do further^ of our e<peclal grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for as, onr hdn
and successors, give, grant, order and appoint that the said city of New Tork, and the compaM,
precincu, circuits, boands, liberties and Jar'sdictlons of the same do reach, extend and stretch forth,
and shall and may reach, extend stretch forth, as well In length as In breadth and circuit, in and
through the limits and boundaries following, tofHt: To begin at the river, creek or ran of watCT
called Spyt den Duyvely over which King's bridge Is built, where the said rirer or creek empties
itself into the North River, on Westchester side thereof, at low-water mark, and so to run along the
said river, creek or run, on Westchester side, at low-water mark, unto the East RlTer or Sound, and
from thence to cross over to Nassau Island, to low-water mark there. Including Great Bam Island,
Little Bam Island and Manning^s Island, and from thence all along Nassau Island diore, at low-
water mark, unto the south side of Red Hook ; and f.om thence to mn a Unc across the North Rlrer,
so as to include Nutten Island, Bedlow's Island, Bucking Island, and the Oyster Island, to low-
water mark on the west side of the North Rlrer, or so far as the limits of our said province extended
there, and so to run up along the west side of the said rlrer at low-water mark, or along the Umlta
of our said province, until It comes directly opposite to the first mentioned river or cteek, and thence
to the place where the said boundaries first began. And also, that the said city, within the BmJts
and Jurisdictions thereof as aforesaid, be and forever hereafter shall be and remain divided Into
seven wards, to wit : the West ward, the South ward, the Dock ward, the East ward, the North
ward, Montgomerle ward, and the Out ward ; each and every of which wards shall contain and com-
prehend, and reach and extend through the several limits and bounds following, to wit :
The West ward to begin at the middle of the east end of the street that goes from the parade to
the North R'lver, between the lot of ground now In fence, belonging to Charles Sleigh, and the house
and ground late of Thomas Elde ; and from thence to mn a direct line over the middle of the west
end of Beaver street, and so along to the middle of Beaver street, till It comes directly opposite to
the middle of the south end of New street, and to run along the middle of New street to the north
end thereof; and f om thence to run to the rear of the dwelling-house now In the possesrion of
Domlne Du Bois, and f om thence to run all along the rear of tlie houses that front the Broadway
up to the north part of the rear of Spring Garden house ; and fh>m thence to run up a Une, as the
Broadway runs, to the end thereof, Including the said Broadway ; and John Harris, his house, and
to include all other houses hereafter to be built fronting the said Broadway, and from the north
end of the Bro/idway to continue and run a line, as the said street runs, until it comes directly
opposite to Bestaver's Killitle or rivulet, and from thence to ran to the said Bestaver^s KilL'Ue, and
so to continue the said line four hundred feet beyond low-water mark Into the North River, and so
down the said North River, always keeping four hundred feet beyond low-water mark, until It comes
directly opposite to the m ddle of the west end of the first mentioned street ; and so to run to and
through the middle of the said street, to the place where the said West ward first began.
The South ward to begin at the middle of Wall street, where the line of the West ward rxam across
the same, and ttom thence down the middle of Wall street, until It comes directly opposite to the
middle of the north end of Broad street ; and from thence down the middle of Broad street to tlie
long bridge ; and from thence to the eastward of, and to inclnde the said long bridge, and the map>
Let-house at the south end of the said street ; and from thence to continue and run a southeast One
across the East River to low-water mark on Nassau Island shore ; and from thence to run along the
said shore at low-water mark, to the south side of Red Hook, and from thence to run a line across
the North River so as to include Nutten Island, Bedlow*s Island, Bucking Island and the Oyster
Island, to low-water mark on the west side of the North River; uidso to ran up along the west side
of said river at low-water mark, until It comes directly opposite to Bestaver's Killitle or rivulet;
and from thence to ran to the northwesterly comer of the West ward, at four hundred feet beyond
low-water mark ; and from thence along the bounds of the said West ward till it comes to the south-
westerly end thereof ; and from tljence still along the bounds of the West ward, through the street
b r the parade, and through Beaver street and New street, to the place where the South ward
bi*gan.
The Dock ward to beg'n at the middle of Wall street, directly opposite to the middle of the north
euU of Broad street, and from thence down Uirough the middle of Wall street until it comes to the
middle of Smith street, then down through the middle of Smith street to a place called Marten
Clock's Corner, including the small street between the house late of the said Marten Clock, and the
slip, and so continue and run a line as the said small street runs Into the East R'.ver, four hundred
feet below low-water mark, thence ranning westerly, keeping four hundred feet below low-water
mark, till It comes to the bounds of the South ward, and from thence along the bounds of the South
word, up the middle of Broad street to the place where the said Dock ward began
APPENDIX. 805
The East ward to begin at the northeasterly comer of the Dock ward, In the middle of Smith
street, and lo to mn firom thence np through the middle of the ^aid street, till it comes dbrectlj oppo-
site to the middle of the northeasterly end of Golden UIll street ; and from thence to run down
tiurooi^ the middle of the said street to the middle of the southeasterly end tliereof ; and from
thence to run through the middle of Bodman's sl!p to the East River ; and from thence to continue
and run a line as the said slip runs into the East River, four hundred feet below low-water mark,
tSlI It comes to the southeasterly end of the Dock ward ; and to along the bounds of the Dock ward
ap through the middle of Smith street to the place where the East ward began.
The North ward to begin where the East ward begins, in the middle of Smith street, and so to run
ft*om thence through the middle of the said street, so far as it runs, and so to continue a line from
the end of the said street as the street runs to the south side of the creek that runs ft-om fresh water
into the East River ; and firom thence running a north course till it comes to the bounds of the West
ward ; and from thence running along the bounds of the West ward toward Spring garden, and
all along the rear of the houses fironting the Broadway, and so still along the bounds of the said
West ward to the middle of Wall street, where the West ward runs across the same ; and from
thence down the middle of Wall street along the bounds of the South ward and the Dock ward, to
the place where the said North ward began, including in the same ward the powder-house, the c!ty
hall, and the Presbyterian meeting-house.
Montgomerle ward to begin at the souUieasterly comer of the East ward, opposite lo Rodman's
slip, four hundred feet below low-water mark in the East River, and from thence to run along the
bounds of the East ward to and through the middle of Rodman's slip, and all through the middle of
Golden Hill street till it meets with the boundaries of the North ward, and the middle of Smith
street, and so along the bounds of the North ward, through the middle of Smith street, to the rivulet
that runs from f/esh water Into the East River ; from thence along the said rivulet so far as it goes,
till It empties itself in the said East River ; and from thence to run a southeast line four hundred
feet beyond low-water mark into the said East River, and from thence running westerly, keeping
four hundred feet beyond low-water mark, to the place where the said Montgomerle ward began.
The Out ward to begin at the northwesterly corner of the South ward, at low-water mark, on the
west side of the North R'ver, over against Bestaver's Kiliitie or rivulet, and from thence to run up
along the west side of the said river at low-water mark, until it comes directly opposite to the river,
creek.or run of water, called Spyt den, Duyvely over which King's bridge is built ; and ft-om thence
to run to the said creek or river to the Westchester side thereof, at low-water mark, and so to run
along the said river, creek or run, on Westchester side, at low-water mark, Into the East River or
Sound, and from thence to cross over to Nassau Island to low-water mark there, including Great
Barn Island, Little Bam Isand, and Manning's Island ; and from thence along Nassau Island shore,
at low-watermark, to the bounds of the South ward ; and from thence along the bounds of the South
ward, the Dock ward, the East ward, and Montgomerie ward, to the place where the said Montgo-
merle ward and the North ward meet, at the rivulet that runs fk-om fresh water, and so to run a
north course as the said North ward runs, till it comes to the bounds of the West ward ; and from
thence along the bounds of the West ward to the northwesterly corner thereof, at four hundred
feet below low-water mark, near Bestaver's Klllitle or rivulet ; and from thence along the bounds
of the South ward to the place where the said Oat ward began.
S. And W6 do furOur^ of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion for us, our heirs
and successors, will, ordain, give and grant that there be and forever hereafter shall and may be
one mayor, one recorder, seven aldermen, seven assistants, one sheriflT, one coroner, one common
clerk, one chamberlain, one high constable, sixteen assessors, seven collectors, sixteen constables,
and one marshal, appointed, nominated, elected, chosen and sworn, in and for the said city of
New Tork, and the precincts and limits thereof; out of the freeholders or f.eemen, inhabitants of
the said city, in manner and form as hereinafter is particularly mentioned ; and for the better exe-
cution of our will, gift and grant in this behalf, we have assigned, named constituted and made, and
by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do assign, name, constitute, and make our well-be-
loved Robert Lurting, Esq., to be the present mayor of the same city, to do and execute all things
which unto the office of mayor of the said city, doth or may belong or In any wise appertain. And
«oe do moreover, for us, our heirs and suetJessors, give, gran^, ratify and confi.-m unto the said
mayor of our said city of New Tork, and to his successors, and to the mayor of the said city for the
time being, and to each of them forever, full power and authority to depute and appoint one of the
aldermen of the said city, for the time being, to be approved of by the governor or commander-in-
chief of the said province, for the time being, in the place of the mayor of the said city, for the time
being ; and as his deputy In all matters and respects to act and to do all things which to the oQce
of the mayor of the said city, within the limits, liberties and precincts thereof, do or ought to belong
daring the sickness or In the absence of the said mayor, for the time being.
4. And *D6 do hereby totU and grants That tyerj such deputy or person so to be appointed and
806 APPENDIX.
approred of, after having taken sach oath a^ hereinafter U directed for eveT *a«h deparj t-i take,
•ball have as full power and authority to act and do, \n the sickness or absence of the mayor of the
■aid city, for the time being, all and singnlar those things which to the oT:ce of mayor of the sad
c!ty belongs, or shall belong or appertain, to all intents and purposes, as the mayor of the said city,
for the time being, by virtue of these presents or otherwise, bath, shall, or orgfat to have. Au*i
tta do farther^ for us, our heirs and successors, will, ordain and grant that, in case it should ha|>-
pen that the present mayor of the said city, or any of his successors, or any of the mayors of tbe
said c'ty, for the time being, should happen to die before any other fit person shall be appointed
and sworn mayor of the said city, in thehr respective rooms and places, then and in every such
case, upon the death of such mayor, such alderman for the time being (who shall have been so
appointed and approved of as aforesaid, to act in the place of or as deputy to such mayor), shall
be, and he is hereby appointed and declared mayor of the said city, and to continue and be con-
tinued in, and to execute the same office of mayor of the said city, from the death of such mayor
so dying, until another fit person shall be appointed and sworn mayor of the said city, in such man-
ner as in and by these presents is hereafter directed for the mpectSve msyore of the said city, to
be appointed and sworn, and so as often as such case shall happen.
fi. Aud/itrther vs have cusigned^ ordained, named and constituted, and by these presents do
for us, our heirs and successors, assign, ordain, name and constitute otir trusty and weD-bdored
Francis Ilarrlson, esq. (one of our council of our said province of New York), to be the present re-
corder of our said city, to do and execute all things which unto the office of recorder of the said city
doth or may belong, or in any manner appertain, and to continue and be continued in and to exe-
cute the said office, until another fit person shall be appointed and sworn in the office. And ve
do h^eUy appoint, That the governor or commnnder-ln-chtef of the said province for the time
being, at any time or times, when, and as often as they or each of them think fit, may displace and
remove the present recorder, or any other recorder, hereafter to be appointed.
<(. And W6 do^ for us, our heirs and successors, assign, name, constitute and appoint John
Cruger, Harmanus Van Gelder, Frederick PhllUpse, Gerardus Stuy vesant, Anthony Rutgers, John
Roosevelt, and Johannes Hardenbi ook, esqrs., citizens and inhabitants of the said city of New
York, to be the present aldermen of the said city; and Egbert Tan Borsom, Samuel Kip, Jolm
Chambers, John Moore, Isaac De Peyster, Petrus Rutgers and Gerardus Beekman, gents , to be the
present assistants of the said city, to wit : The said John Crugc, to he aldenuan, and John Moore
to be assistant, for the Dock ward of the said city ; Harmanus Tan Gelder to be alderman, and John
Chambers to be assistant for tiie West ward of the said city ; Col Frederick Phillipse to be alder-
man, and Isaac De Peyste-* to be assistant for the South ward of tiie said city ; Gerardus Stuy vesant
to be alderman, and Samuel Kip to be assistant for the Out ward of the sa'.d city ; Anthony Rut-
gers, E^q., to be alderman, and Egbert Van Borsom to be afsistant for the North ward of the said
city ; John Roosevelt to be alderman, and Petrus Rutgers to be assiytant for the East ward of the
saUt'city ; Johannes Hardenbrook to be aldeiman, and Gera.dus Beekman to be assistant for the
^"ilontgower'.e ward of the said city
7. And toe do, also, hereby nominate and appoint Co ncltui De Peyste", to be the present cham-
be. lain and treasurer of the city aforesaid ; Colonel Henry Beekman to be the present ttlierlff of tbe
said city; Richard Nichols, gent., to be the present coroner of the said city ; Edmund Peers to be
the present high constable, and Robert Cranuel to be present marshal of the said city.
8. And also, We do hereby nominate and appoint John Le Montes, David Abeel, astessors ;
Nicholas Van Taerling. collector, and John Scott, constable, for the South Ward of the said city;
John Thurraan and John Bofrart, at^essors, and John Pearse, collector for the West ward of the
said city ; Gerardus Duycklnck and Simeon Soumain, assessors, George Brinckerhoof, collector, and
Christopher Nicholson, constable of the Dock ward of the said city ; John Brown and Nathaniel
Blarston, assessors, Peter Noxen, collector, and Timothy Bontecou, constable of the North ward of
the said city ; John Pintard and Peter Van Dyck, assessors, Ebenecer Grant, collector, and John
Abrahamson, constable of the East ward of the said city ; Jacobus Kip, asse^or, and ComeLus
Cousins, collector, for the Bowery division of the Out ward, and Barent Waldren, assessor,
Derick Benshig. collector, and Arent Bussing, constable for the Harlem division of the said
Out ward. '
9. And tre do hereby appoint, order and direct .that within forty days after the date hereof; the
freemen of the said city, being inhabitants in, and the freeholders of each lespecUve ward in the
said city, may and shall assemble themselves and meet togetlier, at such time and place in each of
the said wards as each respective alderman for each respective ward, shall appoint and then and
there by the plu<ality of their voices or votes, to elect and choose out of the inhabitants of each
respective ward, being freeholder there, or freemen of the said city, the several officers following,
to wit, one other constable for the South ward ; one other constable for the West ward ; one other
constable for the Dock ward ; one other constable for the East ward ; two assessors, one collector
APPENDIX. 807
and two ooniUblet for Montgomerie ward; ftbd two other aMOBiors aod three other constAbles for
the Out ward, to wit: one other Msenor and two conttablee for the Bowery divliion, and one other
aaeessor and one other eonitable for the Harlem diTision of the said Oat ward. And we do herebj
will and ordain, that each and everj of the before-named major, aldermen, aniBtante, chamber-
lain, coroner, hl^ constable and manhal, and all and erery the before named aMeMort, constables,
and erery other assessor and constable hereafter to be chosen for any ward, or division of a ward
in the said dty before next Mick<uimas day, on their being respecUvely sworn into their respective
offices, as hereafter Is directed, shall continae in their said respective offices until the fourteenth
day of October next ensuing the date hereof; and firom thence until other fit persons be reBpectivety
chosen and sworn in their respective rooms and places In manner and form as is hereinafter
directed. And we do also ftirther ordain, order and declare, for us, our heirs and successors that
as well the before named sheriff; as every other person and persons hereafter to be appointed for
or to the office of sheriff of the said city, before he or they be permitted to exercise the said office,
shall each of them give and enter into bond to us, our heirs and successors, with two or more
sufficient sureties, in a penalty not less than one thousand pounds, conditioned for the faithftd and
due execution of his said office. In such manner as the governor or commander-in-clilef of the said
province of New York, for the time being, shall think fit and appoint. And the before named
sheriff, on his giving such security, and having taken such an oath as hereafter Is directed, shall
continae in his said office until the fourteenth day of October next ensuing, and fi om thence until
another fit person is appointed and sworn into the said office, and has given such security as
aforesaid.
10. And io« do hsniby^rthert for us, our heirs and successors, appoint and ordain that the
governor or commander-in-chief of the said province of New York, for the time being, by and with
the advice of the council of us, our heirs and successors, for the said province for the time being,
fk-om time to time, shall have UxM power and authority on the feast day of SL Michatl the Arcli-
angel, in every year forever hereafter, to name and appoint and can, shall and may name and
appoint, a discreet and fit person of the freeholders, ft'eemen or inhabitants of the said city, to be
mayor of the s^d city ; and one other fit and able person, one of the freeholders or fireemen, being
an inhabitant of the said city, to be sheriff of the said city ; and one other such person to be coroner
of the said city, all for the ensuing year. And also, that on the said feast-day of St. Michasl the
A changel. in every year forever hereaf er, the fk>eemen of the said city, being inhabitants, and the
freeholders of each respective ward in the said city, shall and may assemble themselves and meet
together at such time of the day and such public place in each of the said wards as each respective
alderman for each respective ward, for the time being, shall appoint ; and then and there, by
plurality of their voices or votes, to elect and choose out of the inhabitants of each respective
ward, being freeholders thereof or ftreemen of the s^d city (except the Out ward), for the ensuing
year, one alderman and one assistant, two assessors, one collector and two conJtabies ; and for the
said Out ward, four assessors, two collectors and four constables, to wit : two assessors, one col-
lector and two constables for each dlvbion of the said ward. And ctUo^ That the mayor of the said
city, for the time being, and four or more aldermen, and four or more of the assistants of the said
city, for the Ume being, on the feast-day otSk Michael the Archangel, in every year forever her*>
after, shall and may in common council name and appoint one fit person, being a ft'eeholder or
fl-eeman and an inhabitant of the said dty, to be treasurer or chamberlain of the said dty for the
year ensuing ; and also that on the same day in every year forever hereafter, the mayor of the said
dty, for the time being, shall name and appoint one other of the s^d inhabitants, being a free-
holder or ftreeman of the said dty, to be high constable of the said city for the year ensuing; every
of which person so to be named for mayor, coroner, hi|^ constable or chamberlain, or so to be
elected for aldermen, assistant, assessor or consUble, on the feast-day of St Michael, shall, on the
fourteenth day of October then next ensuing their nomination or election respectively, uke the
respective oaths hereinafter appointed for them respectively to take, in such manner and form as
hereinafter is directed, and shall continue in their said respective offices, fh>m their being so
respectively sworn, until other fit persons be respectively named or elected, and sworn in thdr
respective rooms and places. And a2so, That every person so to be named for sheriff on the said
feast-day of St. Wchael, shall on the fourteenth day of October then next ensuing his nomination,
take such oath as Is hereafter appointed for each sheriff to take, and shall give such security as Is
hereinbefore appointed for each sheriff to give, and shall remain in the said office from the time of
his being so sworn and giving sneh security, until another fit person shall be appolnttrd and sworn
Into the said office, and shall have given such security as aforesaid. And «o« do farOiw^ for us,
our heirs and successors, appoint and ordain that If it should hi4>pen that dther the mayor, sheriff
or coroner of the said dty, for the time bdng, at any time (before other fit persons be so as afore-
said respectively named and sworn in their respective rooms) should happen to die, then and so
often as It shall so happen, it shall and may be lawful for the governor and commander-in-chief of
808 APPENDIX.
the pa'd province for the time being, by and wHh the advice of the said eoondl fbr fbe Mdd
province, for Uie time being, in Bome convenient time thereafter, to name and appoint 8<Hne fit and
discreet person, being an inhabitant, freeholder or fkreeman of the s^d ettj^ to be mayor of ^e said
elty in the room of snch mayor so dying ; and one other fit and able penon, as aforesaid, to be
•her Iff of the said dty In the room of snch sheriff so dying ; and one other fit person as aforesaid, to
be coroner of the s^d city, In the room of sach coroner so dying ; and that eveiy such penon so to
be named mayor, after having taken snch oath as is hereby appointed for each mayor to take ahaU
remain in.and execute the said oflBce of mayor of the said dty ontU the fonrteenth day ot October
then next ensuing, and until another fit person be named and sworn Into the said office of mayor
of the said city ; and every such person so to be named sheriff, after having sworn and given each
security as Is hereby appointed for each sheriff to do, shall have, exercise and remain in the said
office of thetlff of the said dty until the foarteenth day of October then next, and until another fit
person be named and sworn In the said office of sheriff, and shall have given sudi security as
herdnbefore Is appointed for each sheriff to give ; and every person so to be named coroner, after
having uken such oath as appointed hereby for each conmer to take, shall exerdse and remain ia
the said office of coroner of the said dty, until the fourteenth day of October then next, and ontU
another fit person be named and sworn into the office of coroner of the said dty.
11. And toe dc moreover ^ tor us, our heirs and successors, will, and by these presents, grant to
the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New Tork, and to their successors forever,
that If It should happen any of the present^amed aldermen or assistants, assessors, collectors or
constables, or any one of the aldermen, assistants, collectors or constables hereafter to be dected
and sworn, or to be sworn In their respective offices as aforesaid, shall happen to die or remove out
of the said dty, within the time thfy are or shsll be respectively named or elected for, or before
other fit persons be respectively named or elected, and sworn in thebr respective rooms. It shall and
may be lawful for th# ftreemen, being inhabitants in, and the ft'eeholders of each respective watd
for which such alderman, assistant, assessor, collector or constable so dying or removing, had been
named or chosen for, to assemble and meet together at such time and place in the said respectlre
ward, as shall be sppolnted by the mayor of the s^d dty for the time bdng, or his deputy, and then
and there by plurality of voices, or votes of the ftreemen, being inhabitants In, and the freeboldera
of such ward, to elect one of the inhabitants of, and bdng a freeholder In such ward, or Iceman of
the said dty, to serve as alderman, asstetant, assessor, collector or constable, for the said ward. In
the room of such alderman, assistant, assessor, collector or constable so dying or removing ; and so
as often as such cases shall happen. And In case the present^amed or any ftature diamberlain, or
any high constable of the said dty hereafter to be appointed, so sworn or to be sworn in their
respective offices aforesaid, should happen to die or remove out of the said dty within the time
they were or shall l^ respectively appointed for, It shall be lawftil for the mayor of the said dty, for
the time being, or his deputy and four or more aldermen, and four or more assistants, for the sa!d
dty, for the time being. In common council, to appoint another fit person to be diamberlain, In the
loom of such chamberlain so dying or removing ; and for the mayor of the s^d dty, for the tbne
being, to appoint another fit person to be high constable In the room of such high constable so
dying or removing ; and so as often as such cases shall happen. And all and every sudi person
and persons so to be newly chosen or appointed alderman, assistant, assessor, collector, constable,
chamberlain or h'gh constable shall serve in their respective offices until other fit pe;«ons be
respectively chosen or appointed, and sworn In their respecUve rooms, each of them (^teept the
voUector) first taking such oaths as hereafter is i^polnted for each of them respectively to take.
12. And toe do further^ for us, our hdrs and successors, ordain, grant and confirm unto the sa!d
mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, and their successors forever, that If any
one of the Inhabitants of the said dty of New Tork, being a f rediolder or freeman as aforesaid,
shall hereafter be elected or chosen to the office of alderman, assistant, assessor, collector, or
consuble for any ward In the said dty, or shall be appointed to be high constable of the said dty,
and have notice of his said election, shall refuse, deny, del«y, or neglect to take upon him or them
to execute such office, to which he or they shall be so chosen or dected for, that then and so often
as It shall happen, it shall and may be lawful for the mayor or his deputy, or recorder, and any
four or more of the aldermen, and any four or more of the asdstants of the said dty fbr the time
being, in common council, to tax, assess, and Impose upon every such person or persons so reftudng,
denying, delaying or nef^ectlng such reasonable and moderate fine and fines, sum and sums of
money, as they, the said mayor, or his deputy, or recorder, and any four or more aldermen, and
any four or more assistants, in common conndl, shall think fit, so as such fine for each refusal,
denial, delay or neglect, shall not exceed the sum of fifteen pounds current money of New Tork ;
all which said fines shall and may be levied, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of sodi
delinquent and delinquents, by warrant under the seal of the said dty, dgned by the mayor
thereof, for the time being, rendering the surplusage to the owner or owners tiiereof (if any be), the
APPENDIX. 809
necessary charges of making and selling sncb distress being first deducted, or, by action of d«bt in
any court of record, to be prosecuted, or any other lawftil method to be obtained ; and shall be
recovered and received by and to the use of the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty
of Neir York, and their successors forever, without any accoont thereof to be g^ven to us, our heirs
or successors, or to any of the officers or ministers of us, our heirs or successors : and upon every
such refiisal or neglect, other fit persons to be elected and chosen in the room and rooms of sudi
persons so negleciing or refusing, in suoh manner as Is before tUrected or appoii^^d for electing and
choosing of aldermen, assistants, assessors, collectors and constables^ and for appointing a h{£^
constable, upon the death or removal of any of them respectlTely ; and so as often as such cases
shall happen.
18. And v>e do J^ertby^ for us our heirs and successors, grant, appoint, and ordain, that if it shall
happen that the day or days appointed for the naming, appointing, electing, or choosing, or for
administering any oath or oaths to any of the officers or ministers of the said corporation, shall
happen to fall on a Sunday, then and in such case such naming, appointing, electing, or choodng so
to be made, shall be made, and such oath or oaths so to be administered shall be administered on
the next day, and so as often as such case shall happen.
14. Andfurihtr tee do^ of our especial grace, certain knowledge, mere motion, for us, our heirs
and successors, give, grant, ratify, and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of
the city of New York, and their successors forever, that the mayor or recorder, with four or more
aldermen, or four or more assistants of the said dty, for the time being, be, and shall be forever
hereafter,calied the common council of the city of New York : And that the said common council of the
said city , for the time beIng,or the msjor part of them, have and may, and shall have f^ power,author-
ity and'licensc to frame, constitute, ordain, make and establish, ft-om time to time, all such laws,
statutes, rights, ordinances and constitutions, which to them, or the greater part of them, shall
seem to be good, useful or necessary for the good rule and government of th# body corporate afore-
said ; and of all officers, ministers, artificers, dtlxens, inhabitants and reridents, of the said dty,
within the limits thereof, and for declaring how and after what manner and order the mayor,
recorder, aldermen and assistants of the said dty, for the time bdng, and all and every
of their officers and ministers, and all officers and ministers, and all artificers, inhabitants,
and residents of the same dty, and their factors, servants and apprentices. In their offices, Auctions,
and business within the said city and liberties thereof, for the time being, and from time to time,
shall use, carry and behave themselves ; and for the ftirther public good, oommon profit, trade and
better government and rule of the sidd city, and for the better preserving, governing, dis-
posing, letting and setting of the lands, tenements, possessions and hereditaments, goods and chat-
tels, to the aforesaid mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the said dty of New York bdonging, or
to them and their successors hereafter to belong, and all other things and cauw) whatsoever, touch-
ing or concerning the sold dty, or the state, right and interest of the same (provided that such laws
be not contradictory, or repugnant to the laws and statutes of that part of our kingdom of Great
Britain called England, or of our said province), which laws, statutes, ordinances and cdnstitntlons,
so to be made as aforesaid, may be and remain in force for twelve months from the day of the date
thereof, and no longer, unless they shall be allowed of and confirmed by the governor and council
of the said province, for the time being ; and that the said oommon council of the said dty, for the
time being, or the greater part of them, as often as they shall make, ordain and establish such laws,
statutes, rights, ordinances and constitutions, in form aforesaid, may make, ordain, limit and pro-
vide such and the like pains, punishments, penalties, dther by fines and amerdaments, or by dis-
franchising and amoving from the liberties, privileges, immunities and fireedom of the aald dty,
or by either of them, toward and against ail and every person that shall oflTend against such laws,
statutes, rights, orders and constitutions, or any or either of them, or by the said common council,
or the major part of them, shall be thought necessary and requisite to make, ordain, limit and
provide, for the observation and preservation of the same laws, rights, statutes, ordinances and
constitutions ; and the same fines and amerdaments shall and may, from Ume to time, levy, recdve,
have and recover, either by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such delinquent and
delinquents, by warrant under the hand and seal of the mayor, or recorder, or any one of the
aldermen, for the time being, rendering the surplusage to the owner or owners thereof (If any be)
the necessary charges of making and celling such distress, being first deducted , or by action of
debt, in any court of record to be prosecuted, or in any othor lawful method to be obtained, and to
the use of the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, and thdr successors
forever, without any account thereof to be given to us, our hehrs, and suooessors, or to any of the
officers or ministers of us, our heh:s or successors : all and singular, which laws, statutes, rights,
ordinances and constitutions, so as aforesaid to be made, we do, for os, our heirs and successors
will to be observed, under the pains, penalties and forfdtures In the same contained. And W4 do
^rth^r^ of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for us, our heirs and SQCcessors,
810 APPENDIX.
■!▼•, grant, ratifj and conAnnnmto tbe Mid mayor, aMermen and commonahy of the dty of X«v
York, and their succeMora for^irer, that tbe common council of the a^d dty, for the time bdng, or
the vutior part of theni, shall bare the sole power of determining and deciding all Sections of all
and every their officers and ministen, hereafter to be choaen and elected In, or for the aaid corpo-
ration, or an J part thcreol
15. And tee du hereby^ for at, oar heiri and aacceMora, ordain, declare, giro and grant, onto the
•aid mayor, aldermen and commonalty and their sacceaaors, that the common conncil of the aaid
city shall be summoned, called and held from time to time, so often and at such times and places,
as the mayor, or in case of his sickness or absence, the recorder of the said city, for the time be'ngt
sliall think fit to appoint or direct ; and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the aaid common
council of the said dty, or the major part of them, to assess and lay such reasonable flnea and
amerciaments in and upon every officor and member of the body corporate aforeaaid, for the time
belog, who after baring had due notice, or being duly summoned to appear or attend at any aoch
common council, to be held for the said dty, shall neglect so to do, or make defkolt therein, or shall
not appear or attend according to such notice or summons, In that behalf, or du>w a reasonable
cause, by the said common council, or the mi^or part of them, at their discretion to be allowed,
and so often as such case shall happen, ao that no such fine or amerciament for any one default of
a]>p«arance or attendance of any such officer or member of the body corporate aforesaid, shall
exceed the sum of twenty shillings, in the manner and form aforesaid, to be levied, and by, to and
for the use of the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the said dty, and thdr successors, to be
recovered and received without any aecount thereof to be given to us, our heirs or successors, or
any of our or their officers and ministerB. And sm do ftuihtr^ for us, our hdrs and suceeeaors,
give, grant and confirm unto the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of tbe a^d dty of New York,
and their succeTSors forever, that the common council of the said dty, for the time being, or tbe
major part of them, (but no other person or persons whomsoever, without the consent, grant or
license of the said common coondl of the said dty for the time bdng, or the mi^or part of them)
from time to time, and at all times hereafter, shall and may have the sole, ftill and whole power and
authority of settling, appointing, establishing, ordering and directing, and shall and may settle,
appoint, establish, order and direct audi and ao many ferries around Manhattan's Island alias New
York Island, for the carrying and transporting people, horses, cattle, goods, and chattels from the
said Island of Manhattan to Nassau Island, and ftrom thence back to Manhattan's : and also tmm
the said Island Manhattan's to any of the oppodte ahores all around the same bland, and in sacfa
and so many places as the said common council, or the major part of them shall think fit, who hare
hereby, likewise, Aill power to let, set or otherwise dispose of, all or any of such ferries, to any per-
son or persons whomsoever ; and the renta, itaues, profits, ferriages, fees and other advantages
arising and accruing from all and every such ferries ; we do hereby ftdly and fjreely for as, oar heirs
and successor, give and grant unto the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New Yoiic,
aforesaid, and their successors forevo', to have, take, hold and e^Joy the same to thdr own use,
without being accountable to na, oar hdra or successors, for the same or any part thereof
Ifi. And %D€do^irth«r^ for as, oar hdrs and successors, give, grant, ratify and confirm unto the
aaid mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, and their successors forever, that
the common coundl of the sidd dty, for the time being, or the major part of them, have, and f; om
time to time, and at all times hereafter forever, shall have fUU power, license and authority, not
only to establish, appoint, order and (Urect, the making and laying out of all other streets, lanea,
alleys, highways, watercourses and bridges not already made or laid out, but also the altering,
amending and repairing all such streets, lanea, alleys, hi^wajs, water-courses and bridges, hereto-
fore made or laid out, or hereafter to be made or laid out, in and throu^oot the s^d ctty of New
York and the Island of Manhattan's, in such manner as the said common council, for the time be!ng,
or the major part of them, shall think or Judge to be necessary and eonvenlent for all inhabitants
and travdlers there.
17. And^rtker^ we do hereby, of oar especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for
OS our heirs and successors, ^ve, grant, ratify and confirm unto the sidd mayor, aldermen and
oonxmonalty of the city of New York, and thdr sucoessors, that they and thdr successors shaU and
may have, hold and keep markets at five several places (in the s^d dty of New York, on every day
in the week, throuc^out the year, except Sunday) as follows, to wit : One market at Coentles dock ;
one other market at the Old slip, at Bargfaer*s path ; one other market at Coanteeses slip ; one other
market at the lower end of Wall street, and one other market by the Long bridge. And also, we do
for us, our hdrs and successors, grant unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of
New York and their successors forever, that th^y and thdr successors shall and may have, bold and
keep such and so many other markets, at such and so many other times and places in the aaid dty
of New York, as shall from time to time be ordered, established erected and appointed by the too,
mon coondl of the dty aforesaid, for the time bdng or the greater namber of them.
APPENDIX. 811
18. And we do further^ for iu, oar hetrs and eaecessort, giro and grant unto the said mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and their raccesson, that they and their euc-
ecasors may and ihall hare the astlxe and essay of bread, wine, beer, ale and all other Tictoals and
things whatsoerer, set to sale in the said city and the liberties and limits thereof ; and the amending
and correcting of the same assise ; and all amerciaments, fines and forfeltores to be laid and for-
feited concerning the same or any part thereof, without any account thereof to be given to us, our
heirs or snceessore ; and to perform, do and act, by themselTes or their deputies, all and oTerything
needful or necessary in about or concerning the same. *
19.' And i06 do h4r4by fu^rthtr^ for us, our heirs and successors, grant and give unto the said
mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and their successors forerer the office
of ganger of and In the said city, to gauge all and singular the wine, rum, brandy, molasses, beer,
ale, cider and other merchandises and Tessels gaugable or to be gauged within the said dty ; except
such liquors as are to pay duty by rirtne of any act of assembly, until after they have been gauged
by the public officer appointed for that purpose ; And the office of measurer of and In the sa!d
city, to meaf ure salt, wheat, oats and other grain and all other merchandises measurable or to be
measured In the said city ; and also the offices of sunreyor and packer of bread, flour, beef, pork
and other proTlsions, and all other merchandises and commodities to be surveyed or packed in the
said city ; and also the office of cartage, carriage and portage of all goods, wares, merchandises
and other things to be carted or carried in or through the said city or any part thereof: and also
the office of garbling of all manner of spices and other merchandises and things to be garbled In
the dty aforesaid : To have and to hold the several offices aforesaid, and every of them, and the
disposition, ordinances and correctness of the same, and to exercbe the same by themselves or their
deputies ; and to take and receive to themselves all fees, profits and perquisites to the said offices
and every of them, due or to be due, and all the fines, amerciaments and forfeitures to be laid and
fbrfelted concerning the same, or any part thereof, to them the said mayor, aldermen and common-
alty, and their successors, to their own proper use forever, without any account or any other thing,
to us or our heirs or successors, to be given or made.
And further^ That the mayor of the said dty, for the time bdng. or his deputy for the timo
being, and any four or more of the aldermen, for the time being, shall from time to come, and at all
t'mea forever hereafter, have full power and authority, under the common seal of the said dty, to
make free dtixens of the said city and liberties thereof ; and that every person so to be made a
fk*ee dtlzen, shall pay on hb being made fk-ee, for the use of the said mayor, aldermen and com-
monalty of the city aforesaid, and their successors forever, a sum not exceeding five pounds. New
York money ; and we do for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said mayor,
aldermen and commonalty, and their successors forever, fun power to ask, take, demand and
receive the same to their own use and behoof, without any account thereof to be given to us, our
heirs or successors, or any other person or persons whatsoever.
21. And ire do hweby^ for us, our bdrs or successors, constitute, appoint and ordain, that no
person whatsoever, not being a free dtlsen of the said city as aforesaid, shall at any time he e-
after, use any art, trade, mystery or occupation within the sidd city, liberties, and precincts thereof,
or shall by himself, themselves or others, sell or expose to sale any manner of goods, wares, mer-
chandises or commodities by retail. In any bouse, shop, place or standing, within the said city, or
the liberties or predncts thereof (save in the Ume of public fairs), and that eveiy such person
so using any art, trade, mystery, occupation, or so retailing, contrary to the intent and meaning of
these our present letters, and shall persist therdn after warning to him or them thereof given, or
left by the appointment of the mayor of the said dty, for the time being, or his deputy, at tlie
place or places where such person or persons shall so use any art, mystery or occupation, or
expose to sale by retail as aforesaid, any goods, wares, merchandises or commodities as aforesaid,
shall forfeit the sum of five pounds. New York money, to and for the use of the said mayor, alder-
men and commonalty of the dty of New York, and their successors, for every time that he or she
shall 80 use any trade, mystery or occupation, or expose to sale by retidl as aforesaid, any goods,
wares, merchandises or commodities, after such warning given or left as aforesaid : all and every
of which same forfeitures shall and may be levied by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of
such delinquent or delinquents, by warrant under the seal of the said dty, signed by the mayor
thereof, for the time being, or hb deputy, rendering the surplusage to the owner or owners
thereof (if any be), the necessary charges of making and selling such dbtress being first detduoted ;
or by any other lawful method to be obtained; and shall be recovered and received by and
to the only use of the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the ctty of New York, and their suc-
cessors forever, without any account thereof to be given to us, our heirs or successors, or to any of
the officers, or mlnbtcrs of us, our hdrs or successors : Provided alwaye^ snd we do hereby for
us, our heirs and successors, direct, appoint and order that no person or persons shall be made Area
\ aforesaid, but such as are or shall be natural bom subjects of us, our heirs or successors, or shall
812 APPENDIX.
b« natoraliied or made denlsem. And W6 do ^trth*T^ for us, oar bein and racceatorf , ordain
and appoint, direct, will and grant that all and erery penon or persons now Uring, who at any
time heretofore have been admitted free dUxens, or into the freedom of the said dty of New York,
■hall be and remain fi^e thereof, and free citizens, and hare and enjoy the said freedom, and
all the rights and privileges of freemen and free citizens of the said dty of New York to all intents
and purposes whatsoever.
89. And for the better preservation of good rale and order in the said dty, we do, for ns, our
heirs and successors, will, ordiUn, grant onto the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of th^ said
dty, and their successors, that the common council of the said dty, for the time bein;, or the major
part of them, shall have ftill power and authority to license, or appoint by warrant, under the com-
mon seal of the said dty or otherwise, one or more surveyors of flour, bread, beef, pork and other
provisions, measurers of grain, salt and all other commodities, gangers of wine, beer, ale, dder,
ram, brandy, and all other salable or exclseable liquors, garbles, beadles, bell-men, watchmen,
bridewell-keepers, or keepers of a house or houses of correction, and of alm^-houses, criers, and
bellHringers, and to displace all or any of them and put others In their room, and to add or
diminish the number of them, or any of them, aa often as the said common council of the said
dty, or the m^or part of them, shall think fit.
28. And furthtr^ we do for us, our heirs and successors, grant unto the said mayor, alder-
men and commonalty, and their successors forever, taHl power and authority to erect and build,
or appropriate any other buildings already built, for one or more bridewell or brideweUs, house
or houses of correction, and work-house or work-houses, together with fiill power and authority to
the said mayor, recorder and aldermen, or any one of them, to take up and arrest, or order to be
taken up and arrested, all and any rogues, vagabonds, stragglers, and Idle and suspicious persons ;
and as they the said mayor, recorder or aldermen, or any one of them, shall see cause, to order
all or any such rogues, vagabonds, stragglers, and idle and suspidous persons, dther to the said
work-house, there to remain and work such work and so long, not exceeding forty days, or else to
bridewell or the house of correction, there to receive such punishment, not extending to tiie
loss of life or limb, as the said mayor, recorder and aldermen, or any one of them, shall think
fit. And also, that they the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, and their successors for-
ever, may and shall have power to build, erect, or appropriate any of their buildings already
built, for an alms-house for relief of the poor ; together also, with as fkiU and ample power to
them and their successors, to order, direct, and act in and about the said houses of correction,
wotk-houses and alms-houses, and the persons to be put in and ordered there, as to any dty
or corporation in any place of that part of our realm of Great Britain called England, an^ the
officers or ministers thereof doth or may belong. And alto, that they the said mayor, alder-
men and commonalty, and thdr successors forever hereafter, may have one or more Jail or Jails
in such fit place or places, within the said city and limits and Jurisdiction thereof, as by the com-
mon coundl of the said dty, for the time being, or the major part of them, shall be appointed, to
Imprison and safe keep all and every person and persons for treasons, murder, felonies, tres-
passes, evil doings and ail other matters and causes whatsoever to be arrested or attached, or
to be committed to the Jail or Jails aforesaid. In safe custody, there to remain until they be deliv-
ered by due course of law. And that the common council of the dty aforesaid, for the time being,
or the major part of them, shall and may have power from time to time, to choose, constitute and
place one or more fit person or persons In the office or offices of keeper or keepers of the Jail or
Jails aforesaid^ to hold the same during the good pleasure of the common coundl of the said dty,
for the time being, or the major part of them, as aforesaid requiring, and hereby for us, our heirs
and successors, impowering and commanding the keeper and keepers of the Jail or Jails aforesaid,
for the time being, and all and singular, traitors, murderers, fdons, malefactors, disturbers of the
peace and other delinquents, and all others, for any crime or offence, or other reasonable cause or
matters, to the Jail or Jails aforesaid, ordered or committed, or to be committed or ordered, from
time to time, shall recdve, take, keep and cause to be kept in the same Jail or Jails, until thtj shall
be thence delivered by due course of law.
84. And toe dofwrthsr, for us, our heirs and successors, wHl, ordain and grant, that the mayor
of the Sfdd dty, for the time being, shall forever hereafter be derk of the market of us, our hehrs and
successors, within the city aforesaid, and the limits, liberties and precincts thereof; and that the
mayor of the said dty for the time being, by himself or his deputy, may and shall have power and
authority to do and execute, and shall and may do and execute forever, within the limits, liberties
and predncts of the said city, all and whatsoever to the office of clerk of the market there doth,
shall or may belong, without any hinderance or Impediment of us, our heirs or successors, or any
the officers of us, our heirs or successors ; and that no other derk of the market shall intermed-
dle there. And oho, that the mayor of the said dty, for the time being, and bis successors during
the time of his and thdr mayoralties and no other, be and shall be, the bidllff and conservator of
APPENDIX. 813
the water of Uie North and East Rtvers, and shall and may do, exercise and execute the said office
of bailiff and conservator of the water of the North and Bast Rirers, or water bailiff by him or
themselres, or by his or their safflcient deputy or depatlet, In, upon, or aboat the same wat«r of
the North and East Rivers (that is to say) in and through all the limits, bounds and Jurisdictions of
the said city of New York, upon all and every the banks, shores and wharves of the same water of
the North and East Rivers, within the limits and bounds aforesaid : and to have, receive, collect
and enjoy, all and singular, wages, rewards, fees and profits to the same offices of clerk of the mar-
ket and water-bailiff, or any of them, due or to be due, or belonging to his or their own use, without
any account thereof to us, our heirs or successors to be made. And afeo, that the mayor of the
said city, for the time being, shall have full power and authority to license or appoint, by warrant,
under his hand and seal, or otherwise, one or more marshal or marshals of the said city, porters,
carriers, cartmen, carmen, packers, cullers, common cryers. scavengers, and to displace all or any
of them, and to put Others In their rooms ; and to add to, or diminish the number of them, or any
of them, when and as often as the mayor of the said city, for the time being, shall think fit.
25. And ws do/urthsr^ for us, our heirs and successors, grant, ratify, and confirm unto the said
mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the city of New York, and their successors forever, that
the mayor of the said city for the time being, and no other whatsoever, shall have power to give
and grant licenses annually, under the public seal of the said city, to all such persons as he shall
think fit to license them, and every of them, to keep a tavern, inn, ordinary or viotualiing-^use, and
to sell wine, brandy, rum, strong waters, cider, beer, ale, or any other sort of ezdseable or strong
liquors, within the city of New York, or the liberties and precincts thereof, by retail or the small
measure ; and that it shall be lawful to and for the said mayor of the said city for the time being,
to ask, demand, and receive for every such license by him to be given and granted aforesaid, such
sum or sums of money, as he and the person to whom such license shall be given and granted, shall
agree for, not exceeding the sum of thirty shillings for each license ; all which moneys, as by the said
mayor shall be so received, shall be used and applied to the public use of the said mayor, aldermen
and commonalty of the said city of New York, and their successors forever, without any account
thereof to be rendered, made or done to na, our heirs or successors, or any other person whatsoerer:
every and each of which licenses shall continue and be In force for any time not exceeding one year
from the granting thereo f, but no longer. And ws do ksreby^ for us, our heirs and successors, con-
stitute, direct, order and appoint that no person or persons whatsoever, without such license being
In force, shall at any time hereafter keep any tavern, inn, public ordinaries or victualling-houses,
or sell wine, brandy, rum, strong waters, cider, beer, ale, or any other sorts of exciseable or strong
liquors within the city of New York, or the liberties or precincts thereof, by retail or small mea-
sure, under the penalty of five pounds, current money of New York, for every time that any person
shall act contrary hereto In any respect, to be forfeited and paid by every person, for every time he
or she shall offend or act contrary hereto In any respect, to and for the use of the said mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, for the time being ; all and ev'ery of which pen-
allies shall and may be levied, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of such delinquent
and delinquents, by warrant, under the seal of the said city, signed by the mayor thereof, for the
time being, or his deputy, rendering the surplusage to the owner or owners thereof, if any be (the
necessary charges of making and selling such distren being first deducted), or by any other lawful
method to be obtained ; and shall be recovered and received by and to the only use of the mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and their successors forever, without any
account thereof to be given to us, our heirs or successors, or to any of the mlnistei-s or officers of
us, our heirs or successors.
26. Andfarifi^r^ tee, of our especial g-ace, certain knowledge and mere motion, have given,
granted, ratified and confirmed, and by these presents, do for us, our hehrs and successors, give,
grant, ratify and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York,
and to their successors forever, that the mayor, deputy mayor, recorder and aldermen of the said
city, for the time being, be and shall be at all times forever hereafter, and hereby are assigned to
be Justices, and each of them a Justice of us, our heirs and successors, the peace of us, our heirs and
successors, wiih'n the city aforesaid, and the limits, Jurisdiction and extent thereof, and within the
county of New York, to keep ; and that they, the mayor, deputy mayor, recorder and aldermen of
the said city for the time being, or any four or more of them (whereof we will the mayor, or deputy
mayor, or recorder of the said city, for the time being, to be one), shall and may forever hereafter
hold and keep four courts of general sessions of the peace, In and for the said city and county of
New York, to begin at certain times In the year, tovki: one of them to begin on the flrat Tuesday
In November ; another on the first Tuesday In February ; another on the first Tuesday in May ; and
another on the first Tuesday In August, In every year ; each of which sessions of the peace shall
and may last, continue, and be held any time, not exceeding four days. And also^ that they, the
said mayor, deputy mayor, recorder and aldermen of the said city, for the time being, or any four
1
814 APPENDIX.
or more of them (whereof we win the mAjor, or deputy major, or reoorder of the Mid dty for tibe
time being, to be one), ahall snd maj forerer hereafter, hare ftiU power aad aothoilty to Inqidre
of, and bear and determine, whhln the city and county aforetald, all and all manner of feloniea,
Imprleonmenti, riota, roata, oppreM^ona, extortlona, foreitalllnga, regratinga, trecpaasea, offencea,
and all and singular other erll deeds and offences whatsoerer, within the dty and county aforesaid,
trota time to time perpetrated, done, arising or happening, which to the offloe of justicea of tlie
peace are Incumbent, or do in any manner belong, or which thereaftw shall happen to belong, or be
Incumbent on them, or which In any manner before justices of the peace ought or may be tnqnired
Into, heard and determined, together with the correction and puniriiment thereof, and to do and
execute all other things within the dty and county aforesaid, and the liberties and predncta
thereof; as AiUy, freely and entirely, and in as ample manner and form aa Justioes of the peace of
us, our bdrs and successors, anywhere within that part of our kingdom of Great Britain called
England, by the laws, statutes or customs of England, or by any other legH method whatsoever,
heretofore had or exercised, or hereafter to be had or exercised, oould, might or can do, and in aa
ample manner and form as if the same had been In these our letters particularly, and by q>ecla]
words expressed, contained, and mentioned. And that the said Justices of the peace of in, our
hdrs and successors, in the city and county aforesaid, may have, and exercise Jurisdiction in aU
causes, matters and things whatsocTor which to Justices of the peace of our said city and county In
any manner do or ought to belong. And,^trther^ that the mayor, recorder and aldermen of tiie
said dty, for the time being, and every of them, from time to time, and at an times forever here-
aAer, shaU be Justices assigned of Oyer and TermUur^ and of the JaU deBvery of aU and every th«
Jails now being and hereafter to be in the said city and county, and either of them, and shaU be
named in every commission thereof to be made. And tM <fo ksrebp, for us, our heirs and sue*
cessors, grant, order and appoint, that the sheriff and other ministers and officers of the said d^,
for the time being, shaU and may, and they are and each of them Is hereby commanded, authorteed
and Ailly empowered to execute and return all and every the precepts and commands of the
mayor, recorder and aldermen of the said dty, for the time bdng, and dther and any of them,
ftrom time to time, at all times, as ftally and effeduaUy aa any sheriff, minister or officer of any
county or dty anywhere in that part of our kingdom of Great Britain caUed England, the mandates
or commands of any Justice of the peace, Justice of Oyer and Terminer^ of Jan delivery of; or In
any county there, hath used to make return or execute In any manner whatsoever.
87. And tee do farther^ of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, will, pnd by
these presents for us, our heirs and successors, give, grant, ratify and confirm unto the said mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, and their successors forever, that they and
thdr successors forever hereafter, shall, can and may have and hold in the name of us, our hdrs
and successors, one court of record within the dty of New York, and the Uberties and prednets
thereof, upon every Tuesday in every year, before the mayor of the ssdd city, for the time being, or
his deputy, or the recorder of the said dty, for the time being, and any three or more of the alder-
men for the time being, or any four or more of them (whereof we win the mayor of the said dty for
the time being, or his deputy, or the recorder of the said city, for the time bdng, to be one^. And
that the mayor of the said dty, for the time being, or his deputy, or the recorder of the said dty,
for the time bdng, and three or more of the aldermen, and any four or more of them (whereof we
will the said mayor, or his deputy, or the recorder, to be one), shaU and may hold, plea, and have
cognisance of all and all manner of plaints, actions and pleas of any lands and tenements within
the said dty of New York, and the limits and precincts thereof; and also of all adions of trespass
with force and arms, and without replevin, d^dment, trover and conversion, trespass upon the
case, debt, detinue, covenant, decdta, contracts, contempts, penalties, forfdtures, and all other
actions and pleas, as weU real as personal, and mlxt, arising and accruing within the said dty, and
limits thereof; together with fuU power and authority to hear and determine all and every the same,
and such actions and pleas aforesaid, and Judgments thereon to render, and executions thereof to
award and make, and to act and do everything therein in such manna* and form, and by
such and the like methods, process, and proceedings as fully and amply as in our other courts
of record. In such or the Hke cases Is u»ed, or can or may be acted and done, according to the
laws of that part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, and of our said province of
New York.
28. And we do lurtby^ for us, our heirs and successors, grant, order and appoint that the
sheriff and the coroner, and other ministers and officers of the said dty, for the time being; shatt and
may, and they are and each of them Is hereby commanded, authorised and fUUy empowered to
execute and return aU and every the precepts and process of ttie said court, to them respectively
directed, or to be direded, fN>m time to time, and at all times, as ftally and effeduaUy as any
sheriff, coroner, minister or officer of, or in any dty or place within that part of our kingdom of
Great Britain caUed England, the precepts and processes of any court of record there, hath used, or
APPENDIX. 815
can or mny execute and return In any manner howsoever ; Provided altoofs^ That the mayor of
the said city, for the time behig, or his deputy, or the recorder of the said dty, for the time beings
and any three or more of the aldermen of the said city, or any foar or more of them (whereof the
mayor, or his deputy, or the recorder, we will to be one), may, and by these presents have, and
shall have fUll power to adjourn the said oourt for any thne not exceeding twenty-eight days.
29. And ue do ,^kriKer wiU^ and by these presenU for us, our heirs and suocessors, give, grant,
ratify and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and
their successors, and that th^y and their succesMrs from henceforth forerer hereafter, shall and
may have, within the city aforesaid, a fit and discreet man to be, and who shall be, and be called
the common clerk of the city aforesaid, to act and do all those things within the city aforesaid, and
the limits and Jurisdiction thereof, which to any common clerk of, or in any city, borough or town
incorporated, anywhere in thai part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, by Tirtue of
h!s office, can or ought to do. And also, that foreyer hereafter the common clerk of the city afore-
said, for the time being, shall also be clerk of the court of record, to be held before the mayor, or
his deputy, or the recorder, or any three or more of the aldermen of the said city, as aforesaid; and
also clerk of our peace, and of the peace of our heirs and successors, and of the sessions of the
peace for and in the city and county of New York, firom time to time be held, and all and singular
those things which to the offices of such clerk of the peace and of the sessions of the peace, do and
shall appertain to do, act and execute ; and also shall and may require, demand, take, accept,
hold, keep and enjoy all fees, perquisites and profits which may to any such common clerk, clerk
of the peace, and of the sessions of the peace, do, or ought to belong: And «rs hereby giro, grant,
ratify and confirm, for us, our heirs and successors, unto our belOTcd William Sharpas, gen. (one
of Uie luhabitants of the dty aforesaid), to be the present common clerk of the city of New York
aforesaid ; and also clerk of the peace ; and of the sessions of the peace, for and in the dty and
county of New York, to continue in the offices aforesaid during his life, and to act and execute the
same of&cos and places by hlmsdf or his deputy. And too do fwrther^ for us, our hehs and suo-
cessors, appoint, will and direct, that the goremor or commander4n-chIef of the said proTince of
New York, for the time being, Arom time to time, and at all times after the death of the said
William Sharpas, when and so often as the office and place of common clerk of the dty shall
happen to be vacant, shall and may appoint an honest and discreet man, being one of the inhabi-
tants and a freeman or freeholder of the said dty, to be common clerk of the said dty, during his
good behavior ; and so as often as such case shall happen. And ioe do^rthtr^ for us. our heirs
and successors, will and grant that so often as the said office shall be vacant, the common council
of the said dty, for the time being, shall and may appoint one other honest and discreet cltisen
belDg an inhabitant and ft-eeman or freeholder of the said dty, to be common clerk of the said dty,
and clerk of the said court of record, in and for the said dty ; and clerk of the peace, and of the
sessions of the peace, in and for the said dty and county of New York, to act and execute the said
offices, and who shall and may execute, do and receive all and whatsoever to the said offices and
every of them bdongs, or shall belong or appertain, till In his room another honest and discreet
person, being an inhabitant and freeman or freeholder of the said dty, shall be appointed Into and
for the said offices, by the governor or commander-in-chief of the said province, for the time
be'ng; and shall have taken such an oath as is hereby directed for every such person so to be
appointed to give and take ; and so from time to time, and so often as the case may or shall so
happen.
80. And farther^ we do hereby constitute, name and appoint James Alexander, Joseph Murray,
John Chambers, William Smith, Qeorge Lurting, William Jamison, Richard NIcolls, and Abraham
Lodge, gentlemen, to be the present attorneys, and each of them to be an attorney of and In the
sa!d court of record for and during the good behavior of each of them respectively : and we do
hereby for us, otir hefars and successors, grant and ordain that no other attorney or attorneys,
pe son or persons whomsoever (besides the aforenamed attorneys, during the time that they shall
all remain attorneys of the said court), shall be permitted or suffered to practtoe as an attorney
of or In the ssdd court ; but all and every other attorney and attorneys, person and persons (bes!des
the before-named attorneys during the time aforesaid) firom being an attorney or attorneys of or in
the said court, and from all practice as such, shall be, and are and each of them is excluded and
debnned. And tee do hereby^ for us, our hdrs and successors, give and grant unto the said
mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, and theh* successors forever, that the
u'ayor of the said dty, for the time being, or his deputy, or the recorder, and any three or more of
the aldermen of the said dty, for the time being, or any four or more of them (whereof we will the
mayor or his deputy, or the recorder of the said dty, for the time bdng, to be one) shall and may
(by and with the consent and approbation of our governor and commander-in-chief for the time
bdng) have full power and authority, all or any of the before-named attorneys of the said court,
and all or any other of the persons hereafter to be appointed or admitted attorneys of or in the said
816 APPENDIX.
court, for their or his evil beharlor, in their or his told datj or office of atiomeyi, or va attorxMy of
or in th« lame, or bis or their being thereof legally conyicted from being attomeji or an attorn^
of or in the laid court to amore, displace and forever exclude ; and after the amoTal or death of
anj two or more of the before-named attorneys, upon the amoyal or death of anj other of the
attorneys before-named, or hereafter to be admitted, to recommend one other person to the gorer*
nor or commander-in-chief of the said prorince of New York, for the time being, for his approbation.
In the room of such attorney so dying or being removed ; each of which persons so to be recom-
mended and approved of as aforesaid, shall and may be admitted and sworn an attorney of and in
the said court ; and as often as the case shall happen. And u>e do/urth^, for v, our hdrs and
successors, grant and appoint that no other attorney or person whatsoew shall, after the death or
amoval of any of the before-named attorneys, be admitted or suffered to practise as an attorney
of or in the said court but what shall be recommended and approved of as aforesaid. AndJ^trOUr^
we do tor VB^ our heirs and successors, grant, will and ordain, that the number of attorneys of the
said court shall not at any one time after the death or removal of any two or more of the before-
named attorneys, forever hereafter exceed the number of six : Provided, that nothing herdn sbaU
be construed to extend to hinder us, our heirs or successors from prosecuting or defending all or
any suits, causes, actions or prosecutions in the said mayor^s court by our attorney or solicitor-
general for our said province, or the attorney or solidtoi^general of us, our heirs or successors for
the said province for the time being ; nor to hinder the attorney or solicitor-general of us, our heirs
or successors for the sidd province for the time being, to practise in the said court as counsel in any
civil cause.
81. And ice dofurihery of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere mction, for us, our
heirs and successors, grant, appoint and direct that the mayor, recorder and aldermen of the
said city, for the time being, and each of them f.om time to time, and at all times forever hereafter,
shall have by these presents full power and authority to have and take cognizance of and to hear,
try and finally determine, with or without a Jury, all pleas, suits, controversies and trespasses,
wherein the value does not exceed the sum of forty diillings, in such manner as they or either of
them shall think or Judge to be agreeable and according to equity and good conscience ; and for
the more due proceeding herein, it shall and may be lawful for them or either of them to administer
an oath to the plaintiff or defendant, and also to such witnesses as shall be produced by each party,
If they the said mayor, recorder and aldermen or either of them think fit ; and in case either of the
parties, plaintiff or defendant, shall not perform such order, Judgment or decree as the said mayor,
recorder, or aldermen, for the time being, or any of them, shall make or set down, then it ehaU and
may be lawful for them or any of them, to commit such paity or parties to any pr'.son of or in the
said city, there to remain until he, she or they, perform such order, and every marshal of the said
city, for the time being, is hereby commanded and authorised to execute all and any the summonses,
precepts and commands, of them the said mayor, recorder and aldermen, or any one of them made,
issued, or g'ven In, about or concerning such suits, pleas, controversies and trespasses, or any of
them as shall be to him directed ; and every keeper of the Jail for the city of New York, for the
time being is hereby commanded and authorized to receive, and safe keep in his Jail or custody,
all such parties so committed or to be committed to the prison he shall then be the ke^er of^ until
he, she or they shall perform such order accordingly.
82. And ue do^ for ourselves, our heirs and successors, by these our present letters, require and
strictly charge and command, and fUlly empower the sheriff, common clerk, chamberlain, marshal.
Jail keepers, high constable, petty constables, and all other subordinate officers of and in the said
olty, now chosen, elected, constituted or appointed, or that hereafter may be chosen, elected, con-
stituted or appointed, and every of them respectively. Jointly and severally, as cause shall requfare,
to be obeisant and obedient to and attend upon the said mayor, recorder and aldermen of the said
olty, and every or any of them at all Umes hereafter, according to the duty or obligation of their
respective offices and places ; and to execute all and every the commands, precepts, warrants and
processes to them respectively directed and issued, and given out and to be issued and given out,
by them the said mayor, recorder and aldermen or any one of them.
88. Andv)e do further, hereby will, declare and ordain that before the mayor, deputy mayor,
recorder, aldermen, assistants, assessors, sheriff; coroner, common clerk, chamberlain, high consta-
ble and petty constables of the said dty, such of thvm as are hereby appointed and named, and all
and every such as hereafter are to be appointed, elected or choten shall, before they be respectirely
permitted to execute their respective offices or places aforesaid, respectively be sworn as follows,
to toit : The hereby named mayor of the said city, and every other person hereafter to be appointed
to or for that office, to take the proper oath a« such, and well and truly to execute the office of
mayor, and all other offices and places, hereby appointed for each mayor to execute and act bo,
and the usual oath of a Justice of the peace, before the governor or commander-in-chief of the
said province of New York, for the time being. In presence of three or more of the aldermen of the
APPENDIX. 817
aidd dty of Nev Tork, for the time being; or. In cue of the absence of the goremor or command-
«r>in-chieff for the Ume beinf, then before the oldest counsellor of the su'd province, for the t'me
being, In the prevence of three or more of the aldermen of the taid city f^r the time being. And
tM do hereby^ for us, our hehs and succeesors, give and grant full power and authority to the gor-
emor or commander-in-chief of the said province for the time being, in the presence of lh:-ee or
more of the aidermen of the city aforeeaid, for the time being, or in case of Uie abeenco of the
■aid governor or comraander-in-chief, then to the oldest counsellor of the vaid province for the
Ume being, in the p esence of any three or more of the aldermen of the said city for the time being,
to administer such oaths accordingly, withoat any other warrant, commission or power from as, onr
hdrs or successors ; and so from time to t'.me, as often as the caae shall or may require or happen.
And the above-named recorder of the said city of New York, and every other pe son hereafter to
be appointed to or for that office to take the proper oaih as snoh officer ought to take, and an oath
wril and tmly to execute the office of recorder, and the proper oath of a Jnst ce of peace, before
the mayor of the said city, for the time being, or hb deputy ; to which the same n>ayor, for the time
being, or his deputy, we do, for us, our hehv and successors, give fUU power and authority by these
presents to administer such oaths accordingly in the manner aforesaid, without any other warrant,
commission or power f om us, our heirs and successors ; and every deputy mayor or every aider*
man bereaftor to be appointed to act as deputy mayor for the time being, to take the proper oath
as SQch, an oath weH and truly to execute the office of a deputy mayor, daring the time for which
lie shall be appo'nted deputy, if the same mayor, his constituent, shall so long live. And if the
said mayor shall happen to die within such time, that thereupon and from thenceforth such deputy
mayor shall well and truly execute the office of mayor of the.sald city, until another fit person be
appointed, and STvorn mayor of the said city, in the manner In these present letters m*fntioned : and
shall also take the proper oath of a Justice of the peace before the mayor or recorder, and any-
thi ee or more of the aldermen of the said city for the t'me being And W6 do hersby^ for no, oar hei-s
and successors, give foil powe and authority to the mayor or recorder of the said city, and to any
three or more of the aldermen of the said city, for the time being, to admin'ater such oaths as afore-
said without any other wazrant, commission or power fh>m ns, our heirs or successors. And al90y
every alderman he. eby appointed, and every person hereafter to be elected to or for the office or
place of^ alderman of or in the said city, to take an oath well and truly to execute the office or
place of alderman, and the proper oath of a Justice of the peace, before the mayor of the said
city, for the Ume being, or his deputy, or th« recorder of the said city for the time being : And
also, every assistant, assessor, sherlfl; coronor, common clerk, chamberlain, high constable and petty
constable he. eby named, and every pe son hereafter to be elected or appointed to or for the office
or place of an assistant, assessor, coroner, common clerk or chamberlain, or shall be appointed or
elected to or for the office or place of hi^ constable or petty constable of or in the said dty, each
of them respectively to take the proper oath for his respective office or place, and well and truly to
execute the re5])ective offices or places he Is or shall have been respectively elected or named for
before the said mayor of the said city for the time being, or his deputy or the recorder of the said
city for the time being. And tra do Aere&y, give foil power and authority to the mayor of the said
e'.ty for the time being, or liis deputy or the recorder of the said city for the time being, to admin-
ister such respective oaths to each of the respective persons aforesaid accordingly, without any other
warrant, power or authority from us, our heirs or saccessors.
84. .4 nt/^ M«r, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have granted,,
and by these presents do for oupselvea, oar heirs and successors, grant and confirm unto the afore- •
said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York- aforesaid, and to their successors, .
that neither they nor any of them, nor any free citisea of the saM cUy, during the time of their
be ng inhabitants there, shall against their or any of their wills, out of the city aforesaid, be put or
empannelled upon or in any atilzes, Juries or Inquisitions whatsoever, (although It tourheth or doth
or ahall touch us, oor heifs or successors, and although we or our successors, be or should or shall :
be parties,) out of the said dty, neither rtiall they or any one of them be made, elected or cho^eD
asi^enor, taxer or collector of taxes, duties. Imposts, or subsidies whatsoever, or of any part or par-
eel of them, or of any of them out of the said city ; nor shall be ordained, elected, assigned or
appointed copstable, bairfi*, or any other officer or minister, without or beyond the said city afore-
said, and the liberties and p eclncts thereof; nor shall be called upon, compelled or forced, against
their or any of the'r wills to do, receive, occupy or discharge any of the duties or fonctlona above-
mentioned, or any other office, duty or fonction whatsoever, without the city liberties and precincts
aforesaid. And although the aforesaid mayo% recorder and aldermen, freemen or free ottisena of
the dty aforesaid, or any of them shall, while they are or remain Inhabitants of the laid dty,
against their or any of their wills, be put, empanndled or returned upon any aa8ise8,JnTi«s orinqol-
■ttlons whatsoever, out of the said city and limits thereof; or shall to any of the offices above*
mentioned, or any other office or ftinctlon whatsoever out of the said dty, be dected. or chosen^
52
818 APPENDIX.
and though they or aoj of them b«uig smnmoned, empaiiD«ned or returned, elected or cbost
afoi-esaid, shall refUae or neglect to come and appear b^ore our Justices or other Justices, c
•ioneia or officers of us, our heirs or successors, (before whom each assises. Juries or Inquests ahal!
bnppen to be summooed or returned,) or in or upon the same assizes. Juries, or Inquests, shafl
refuse or neglect to be sworn or tried, or any of the offices, duties or tanctfons, aforesaid, sbaB
refuse to do, receive, occupy, or discharge, yet the person or persons so r^bsing any eontempli^
fines, amerciaments, penalties, forfeitures or loss whatsooTer, by reason of such refksal or neglec*
to or toward us, our heirs or successors, shall not, nor either of them, shall in anywise incur, bat
therefrom and thereof, as well before as oar heirs and successors, as all other the Justices, commis-
sloners and other offlcers whatsoever of us, our heirs and saceesson, shaD remain quiet and for-
ever discharged.
86. And/»rtKer^ we do for us our heirs and successors, by these present letters gtre, grant, rat-
Uy and confirm unto all and erery the respective inhabitants and freeholders of the saSd dtj of
New York, and their several and respective heirs and assigns forever, all and every the several and
respective messuages, tenements, lands and hereditaments, situate, lying and being in the said dtj
and Manhattan*s Island aforesaid, to them severally and respective^ granted, convayed or con-
firmed, or mentioned, or Intended to be granted, conveyed or confirmed, by any of the lata
governors, r.eutenant-govemors or commanders^n-chlef of the said province, or by any of the fsr*
mer mayors or deputy mayors, and aldermen and commonalty of the aidd dty of New York, by
that or any other name, style or title, or by others claiming moder any such grant or conveyance^
to have and to hold them respectively, and to their respective heirs and assigns forever; saving
^d reserving the several rente and qnlt-ren's, reserved and due, and to be due and payable
fkt>m each of the several persona, to whom by virtue of any former grants to them (or those from
or under whom they respectively hold) the same messuages, tenements, lands or heretftaments were
made or given.
80. And fwihw^ of oar spedal grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we do for oa, o«r
heirs and successors, give, grant, ratify and confirm to the said mayor, aldermen and commooalty
of our said city of New York, and to their successors fbrever. fUll, special and free Bberiy, license,
power and authority to take, receive, hare, hold and enjoy to them and their successors forever. In
fee simple, any manors, messuages, lands, tenements, hereditamoite, rents and other possesions
and real estate within or without the same city, aa weU of and from us, our heirs and saccessors, aa
of and from all and every other person and penons whomsoever : so as the manors, messuages,
lands, tenements, hereditaments, rents and other possessions, and real estate which the mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New Yo.k shall or may have in their possession andseiscA,
at any one time, exceed not In the whole the clear yearly rent or value of three thovsand peonds
per annum, money of our realm of Ch-eat Britain, beyond and above all diarges and r^rises, with-
out any hindrance of us ; our heirs or successors, or the Justices, escheators, sherifli^ coroners, baO-
Ub, or other the roiniste>8 of us, our heirs or successors ; and tUs without any other haters patent,
liberty, license or power from us, our heirs or successors, the statute of Mortmain, m anyotber
act, law or statute, or any other cause, thing or matter whatsoever, to the contrary thereof In any
wise notwithstanding; and the same manors, messuages, lan^ tenements, bereifitaments, rente
and other possessions, or any part thereof, to demise, grant, lease and set over, assign and dispose
at their own will and pleasure, and to make, seal and accomplish any deed or deeds, lease or leases,
evidences or writings, for or concerning the same or any part tbereot
87. jind we do, by these presents, of our espedal g^^ace, certain knowledge, and mere motion,
give, grant, ratify and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New
York, and their successors forever, all those the now city hall and Jails, rooms or places for the
courts of Justice and chambers adjoining, with the g.ound and appurtenances thereto bdonging,
the five market-houses, the great dock, the now crane and wharf, with the common sewer leading
through the great dock and bridge, and also the magazine or powder-house near the fresh water,
all In the city of New York, and the ferry and ferries on both sides of the East River, and all other
ferries now and hereafter to be erected and established lUl round the Island of Manhattan's; and
the management and rule of, and aH fees, ferriages and perquisites to the same, or any part thereof
belonging or to belong ; and also the ferry-houses on Nassau Island, with the bame, stables, pen
or pounds, and lot of g ound thereto belonging; and abo all the ground, soil or land between blgb-
water and low-water mark, on the said Island of Nassau, flrom the east side of the place caBed
Wallabout to the west side of Red Hook ; and also to make laws and rules fbr the goTemment and
well ordering of all the ferries now erected or esUblished, or hereafter to be erected or estab-
lished round the said Island Manhattan's, and all the waste, vacant, unpatented and unappropr -
ated land lying and being within the said city of New York, and on Manhattan's Island aforesaid,
extending to low-water mark ; together wHh the right, benefit and advantage of all docks, wharfti,
cranw and slips or small do<te within this dty, with the wharfkge, cranage and dockage, and all
APPENDIX. 819
tetras, r«nti, proflta and adrantages artelng, or to arise or accrue by or from all or any of them ;
and all rivers, rivulets, creeks, coV^es, ponds, waters, water-courses, fishing, fowling, hunting and
hawking, mines and minerals, and other royalties and privileges, within the city of New York and
Manhattan's laland ; and also all and singular other the rights, privileges, liberties, fk'anchbei,
preeminences, advantages, Jurisdictions, courts, powers, offices, authorities, markets, ferries, fer*
riages, fees, fines, amerciaments, perquisites, profits, Immunities, lands, tenements, rents, posse«>
dons and hereditaments, and other real estate, not only wh'.ch in the before recited grant or writ-
ing, made or mentioned to be made In the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and eighty-
six, and !n the before recited letters patent of Queen Anne, mentioned, or intended to be thereby,
or by either of them granted or conveyed, but also, which the mayor, aldermen and commonalty
of the city of New York, or their predecessors, inhabitants or citizens of the said city of New York,
or any part thereof, by whatsoever other name, style or title they or any of them have been known
or called, have, held or claimed to hold by prescription or otherwise (silver and gold mines
excepted), and also, except our Fort Ckorge In our city of New York, and the ground, fUU bound-
aries, and extent thereof or thereto belonging, and also that piece of ground near the English
church, called the Govemor^s garden, and the land called the Klng^s fkrm, with the swamp next to
the same ; and saving the several rents, reserved by virtue of former grants, and saving to all other
persons, bodies politic and corporate, their respective titles to any of the said lands or tenements ;
and saving to the inhabitants of those that have plantations by the waterside, between Wallabout
and. Red Hook, the right of transporting themselves and their own goods only in thehr own boats,
ft-om and to their respective dwellings or plantations, without paying ferriage, tohavs and to hold^
all and singular the premises aforesaid, and every part and parcel thereof (except and saving as
Is herein excepted and saved), unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New
York, and their successors forever, to their only proper use and behoof forever.
83. And also, we do further, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, give
grant, ratify and confirm unto the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York,
and to their successors forever, all that space of ground and soil of Hudson's River now lying and
being under the water of the same river, to begin at a certahi place near high-water mark at the
south end of a piece of upland, which lies between the said river and a piece of meadow ground or
marsh being the first piece of meadow ground or marsh near Hudson's River, to the southward of
Greenwich, and fh>m whence the above-named run of water, called Bestaver's Killltie or rivulei, runs
Into Hudson's River, firom which place of beginning to extend or run to the south side of the street,
which runs from the parade before our tort in New York to Hudson's River, south elfi^teen degrees,
thirty minutes west, on a straight line, th^ distance being one hundred and twenty-five chains, ftrom
wh!ch line to run a perpendicular breadth of, and to comprehend tour hundred feet fh>m low«>
water mark Into Hudson's River, the same containing eighty-two acres and one half acre or tber^
about. And also, all that space of ground and soil of the East River, from the north side of Corlear^
Hook to Whitehall, beginning at two large stones set on the south side of a small creek, in a marsh
on the north side of Coriear's Hook, from whence to the eastermost point of Corlear's Hook,
the distance on a straight line running south fifteen degrees, thirty minutes east. Is forty chains
and two rods; from thence to Whitehall, on a straight line running south, seventy-eight de>
grees, thirty minutes west, the distance Is one hundred and fifty-two chains, from which two Unei
to run a particular breadth of and to comprehend four hundred feet firom low-water mark into the
East lUver, the same containing one hundred and twenty-seven acres or thereabouts ; together with
all and singular the benefits, liberties, privileges, ways, water-courses, easements, wharves, keys, pro-
fits, hereditaments and appurtenances to the same, or any part thereof belonging or appertaining, or
to belong or to appertain, or that can In any wise be had, made, used or enjoyed thereon, or there-
with used, with full power and authority at any time or times hereafter to fill, make up, wharf and
lay out an and every part thereof; and the same to build upon and make use of in such manner as
they, the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, and their successors, shall think fit; and also all
our estate, right, title, interest, benefit, claim and demand whatsoever, of. In or to the same, and
the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, and the yearly and other rents, issues and
profits thereof : To have and to hold, all and singular the premises aforesaid, unto them the said
mayor, aldermen and commonalty, and their successors, to their own proper use and behoof for*
ever, and to no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever. Provided cUioayt^ that nothing in these
presents shall be construed to empower or entitle the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the
city of New York, or their successors, to wharf out before any persons who have prior grants firom ne
or some or one of our predecessors, of keys or wharves beyond low-water mark, without the actual
agreement or consent of such persons, their heirs or assigns, owners of such keys or wharves. And
aUo^ that of the wharves to be built or run out, there shall be left toward the East and North
Rivers, fort^^feet broad, as well for the greater convenlency of trade, as at any time or times hero-
after, for us, our heirs and successors, to plant batteries thereon. In case of any necessities ; to do
820 APPENDIX.
which, we do, for us, our helrt and Baccevon, hereby rcMrre powtr ; Aajtldiiff hfereln eootalocl to
the ooBtr«r7 in ax^ wiae DOtwiUuUoding; they, the eaid mayor, aldermen, and commwiaKy, and
their ittccefleon, rendering, yielding and paylnf , for all and ercry Uie rl^ts, prirllefei, frascfabei,
preSmlnencet, advauiaget, jurlsdietiona, courts, poweia, offices, aotboriUee, ftnee, amereiamenti, per-
quisites, fees, ferriages, profits, immuniUes, lands, tenements, rents, possesions, hereditaments and
other real estate, and all other the premises in and hy these letters before and hereafter granted, or
meant, mentioned or iotcoticl tr> he hereby granted unto us, our heirs or eoceesset^ or ante oar
or their recelrer-geaeral for the said pi urlnee of New York, for the time being, at the cvstom Itoose
In the said city of New York, yearly and ereryyear, on the feast day of A. Michael the Areb-«ngel,
the annual rent of thirty shillings, proclamation money, besides and orer andabore the yeaiiy qnlr-
rent of one beaver skin or the Talue thereof, la current money of oar sidd prorlnee In and by tbe
aforesaid recited grant, made In the year one thousand six hundred and ^|^ty-aiz, resenred to be
paid on the tweoty-fifth day of March, yearly, forerer ; and also the yearly qoit-rent of Ato afaU-
Mugs, current money of New York, In and by the before recited letten patent of Queen Anne,
reserred to be paid at or upon the feast day of St. John the Baptist, yearly, forerer.
89. And ijoe dofurlker^ of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for us, our
heirs and successors, by these presents, giro and grant unto the aforesaid mayor, aldermen and
commonalty of the said dty of New York, and their succsssors foreyer, that they and their sacees-
■ors, all and singular the rights, prlTlicges, firaachlses, preSmlnences, adTantages, authorities, Jnxie-
dlctions, liberties, offices, courts, powers, immunities, ferries, ferriages, profits and perqidsltes here*
iobefore mentioned, or Intended to be hereby granted or confirmed, shall and may fbrerer herea^
ter hare, hold, enjoy and use, without the hinderance or impediment of us, our hein or snooeeson,
or of any of the Justices, sherilb, escheatoit. coroners, bailUb or other officers or ministers whateo*
erer of us, our heirs or successors, albeit the same or some or any one of them, hare not been used
or may hare been abused, misused or dboontlnued, forfeited or lost, being unwilling, and hereby
forbidding, that the said m^or, aldermen and commonalty, or their successors, or any of them, by
reason of the premises aforesaid or any part thereof, by us, our hefans, or by the justices, sherUk,
escheators, bailUIli or other officers or ministers of us, our heirs or successors, be hindered, molested,
rexed or aggrieved, or In any wile ^stnrbed; being willing, and by these presents for oureelres,
our heirs and successors, commanding as well all the Judges and Justices of us, our hdn and succes*
sore, as tbe attorney and solicitor-general of us, our belra and successors, for the said prorinee for
the time being ; and also all other officen and mlnlsten whatsoerer of us, our heirs and sueces-
sors, for the time being, that neither they nor any of them do prosecute or continue, or cause to
be prosecuted or continued, any Information, or any writ or summons of pro tMumBuiOf or any
other writ or writs, prosecution, suit or process whatso^er against the aforesaid mayor, aldermen
and commonalty of tbe city of New York, or their successors for tbe time being, or against any of
them, for any causes, things, offences, claims, usurpations or omissions, or any of them, by them,
the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, or any of them, or by the predeeessors or any of them,
or by any other mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, or any of them, done,
attempted, claimed, used, had, usurped or c<Hnmltted, or omitted, at any time before the making of
these letten. And we being willing also that the said now mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the
dty of New York, and thdr successors, shall not, nor shall any or dther of them, be molested or
Impeached by or before any Judge or Judges, Justice or Justices, sheriflk, officers or other ministers,
aforesaid, in or for any- use, claim, abuse, usurpation, of any the aforesaid, or any other liberties,
ft'anchises, or Jurisdictions within the dty aforesaid and the liberties and predncts there<rf; before
the day of the making of these letters, had used, claimed, abused or usurped, not to or for them,
or any of them, or for any other thing whatsoerer, shall be compelled to answer ; and also of our
more abundant especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we hare glren, pardoned,
remitted, released and qult-dalmed, and by these presents do, for oursdres, our hdrs and succes-
sors, g'.re, pardon, remit, release and quit-claim to the aforesaid mayor, aldermen and commonalty
of the city of New York aforesaid, and to thdr snccesson forerer, by whatsoerer name the same
mayor, aldermen and commonalty may be called, named or styled, or lately, heretofore were
called, styled, named or titled, aU and all manner and actions whatsoerer, informations and suits
of quo warranto and other informations, suits and prosecutions ; and also, all and singular, usages,
non-usages, abuses, forfeitures, osurpaUons, Intmdons, ombdons, and also, all uqjvrt claims of
any rights, prlrUeges, liberties, f^unchlses. Jurisdictions, courts, powers, offices, fe^ fines, am*-
daments, ferries, ferriages, perquidtes, rents, possessions, lands, tenements or heredlUments what-
soerer, by the aforesaid mayor, aldermen and oommonalty of the dty aforesaid, or by any of thdr
predecessors, or tfy any other mayor, aldermen and commonalty of tbe dty of New York, by wha^
soerer name or names, or hioorporatlon, or by any pretext of Incorporation, before the day of the
making of these presents, perpetrated, made or claimed ; and also, all and all manner of fines, amcr>
elameats, penattlee,sums of money, and other forfdtures whaUoerer, by reason of su8i oMrpatloB,
APPENDIX. 821
IntitBioii, nsage, non-attgef omltnon, ftbnse or oqjott claim, and that the7, ^^ x^d maytr, alder-
men and commonalty of the city of New York, and their suocettors, and erery of them, be and shall
be, and hereby are, thereof folly aoqn'tted and discharged toward us, oar heirs and successort
foreTer ; being onwUUnf that they or any of them should, by reason of the premises aforesaid, or
any part the.-eof by us, our heirs and socoessors, or by any of our justices, sheriffs, ministers or
officers whatsoerer, be troubled, molested, or In any wise rexed.
40. And further «m <fo, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, will, declare,
and signify-, and by these presents for us, our heirs. and successors, do grant unto and covenant
with the sidd mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the dty of New York, and their successors, nol
only that they and their successors forever hereafter may and shall, have, hold, use, possess and
ecUoy all the rights, privileges, liberties, (kmnchlses, Jurisdictions, courts, powers, offices, authorities,
markets, ferries, fees, fines, amerciaments, perquisites, profits, immunities ; and also all the rents,
possessions, lands, tenements and heredltamenu, and all other the premises In these presents men-
tioned, and intended to be hereby granted and confirmed ; but also, that these our letters, l>elng
entered upon record, as is hereinafter appointed, and the record or enrollment thereof, and either
of them, and all and everything therein contained, from time to time, and Mt all times hereafter be
and shall be, firm, valid, good, sufficient and efliectiial In law toward and against uis our heirs and
•oocessors, according to the true Intention thereof; and In and through all things shall be construed,
taken and expounded most ben'gnly, and in favor, and for the most and greatest advantage, profit,
and benefit of the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, and their sue-
ecssors, as well in all courts, as elsewhere, without any oonArmatlon, licenses, tolerations procured
or to be procured of us, our heirs and successor?, notwithstanding that any w 2 It or writs of a^ quod
damnwi^ have or have not Issued, or is or are not returned before the making of these precepts,
and notwithstanding the not reciting, m's-reciting or not rightly or certainly reclt.ng, or 111 or
wrong secitlng the sidd ric^fes. privileges, liberties, fHmdbises, Jurisdictions, courts, powers, offices,
authorities, markets, ferries, fees, amerciaments, perquisites, profits, Immunities, rents, possessions,
lands, tenements, hereditaments, and any other the premises In or by these presents granted or
mentioned, or intended to be he eby granted, or any part or parcel thereof, and notwlthstaiidlng
the not finding, or 111 or not right or certain finding of any office or offices, inquisition or Inqulstlons,
of the premises hereby granted or mentioned, or intended to be hereby granted, or any part or par-
cel thereof, by which our title In and to the said premises, or any part thereof, might, could, should
er ought to have been found, l>efore the making of these presents ; and notwithstanding any defect
in not reciting, or ill reciting any lease,grant or granU of the premises, or any part thereof being upon
record, or not upon record,or otherwise howsoever ; and notwithstanding the 111 naming, rals-namlng,
or not right or certain naming any place or precinct wherein the premises or any part thereof are or
if ; and notwithstanding aay defect in not mentioning, or not fully, rightly or certainly mention*
Ing the name or names of all or any of the rights, privileges, liberties, franchises. Jurisdictions,
courts, powers, ofiices, authorities, markets, ferries, fees, amerdnments, perquisites, profits,
Unmunlties, rents, possessions, lands, tenements, hereditaments, or other the premises hereby
granted or intended to be granted, or any part or parcel thereof; or of the yearly or other
rent of; or reserved in and upon the premises, or any part thereof; and notwithstanding any
defect for the want of a compuUtion or declaration, or for the omission of the tree value of the
premises, In these presents mentioned, or hitended to be hereby granted, or any part thereof; and
BOtwiihstanAng any defect In not mentioning oar tree right, estate or title of or to the same
premises, or any part or parcel of them ; and notwithstanding the not mentioning, or not
Ailly or rightiy, or certainly mentlonhig the natures, kinds, species, or quantities of the premises, or
any of them, or part or parcel of them ; and notwithstanding any act, statute or ordinance of par-
liament, or any act of assembly : and notwithstanding any other defecto, defaults or imperfectiont,
or any other cause or thing whatsoever. And farther, that If any feult, mistake or imperfectfoa
In time to come, shall be found in these pres^its, or any doubt, scruple or question be or shall be
made, or shall happen to arise concerning tite premises, or any part thereof; that we, our heirs and
successors, shall and wHl vouchsafe to make any other grant or assurance, under the great seal of
OS, our heirs or successors, of the said province of New York, to the mayor, aldermen and common-
alty of the cHy of New York, for the time bdng, and their suooessors, at their own proper charges,
for the better giving, granting and conflrmhig and for their safe and better eqjoying the premises
aforesaid, and every pari, thereof, when it shall be desired by the same mayor, aldermen and com-
monalty of the dty of New York or thdr successors. Also we wIU and by these presenta grant unto
the said mayor, aldermen and commonalty, that they shall and may have these presents, made and
sealed under the great seal or our said province of New York,wUhont rendering, paying or making any
line or fee, great or Uttle,to us or to owr use for the same, although no express mention Is made of the
Irue yearly or other value, or of the certainty of the premises, or any part theraof, or of the gifts or
grants, heretofore by us, or our ancestors, or by any governor, Uentenant-governor, or commander-
822
APPENDIX
In-cfalef of the said prorlnee of Neir York, to th« mayor, aldermen a&d commonaltjr of the sakl city
of New York, or to the dtisens and inhabltaots of New York aforesaid, bj that or anjr other name,
style or title, or any other etatate, act, ordinance, proclamation, proTialon or restriction, made, pnb-
liflhed, ordained or provided to the contrary, or any other cause or matter whatsoerer, in anywise
notwithstanding
In Uttimony whereof, we hare caused these our letters to be made patent, and the great seal of
our said province to be hereunto affixed, and the same to be entered of record in our secretary's office
of our said province, in one of the books of patents there remaining. IFi^iUM, our trusty and well-
beloved John JHontgomerie, Esq., our captain-general and govemor^n-chief of our said province
of New York, and the province of New Jersey, and the territodes depending thereon in America,
and vice-admiral of the same, etc, at our Fort George in New York, the fifteenth day of Jannaxy,
in the fborth year of our reign.
Jfoy itpUaee your eaoeeUtncy,
I BAVs perused this Charter, and find nothing therein pr^dicial to the interest of his M^estj.
R. BRADLEY, Attomty-G^ntroL
To his Excellency, The Oovemor of the province of New York, ete.
1514 JitntMry, 1T80.
AN ACT.
rOR OONFIRMINa UNTO THE OITY OV NEW YORK, ITS RIGHTS AND PRimJDGESL
, Passed thi 14th or October, 1732.
L SSU deetared and emaeUd by the Oovemor, the C(mncil,€md Iks General Aseembly of Oe
colony of New York, and it U hereby enaeUd by the authority of the eame. That the mayor,
aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York, shall and may forever hereafter remain, con-
tinue, and be a body corporate and politic, in refiusto et nomine^ by the name of the mi^yor, aiders
men and commonalty of the city of New York ; and by that name to sue, plead and be Impleaded,
and to answer and to be answered, without any aeisure or for(;|udger, for or upon any pretence of
any forfeiture or misdemeanor at any time heretofore done, committed or suffered.
n. And be U enacted by the authority ajbreeaid. That all and singular letters patent, grants,
charters and gifts, sealed under the great seal of the colony of New York, heretofore made and
granted unto the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York be, and are hereby de-
clared to be, and shall be good, valid, perfect, authentic and effectual in the law, and shall stand, be
taken, reputed, deemed and ac^udged good, perfect, sure, available, authentic and effectual In the
law, against the king^s majesty, his heirs and successors, and all and every person and poisons
whomsoever, according to the tenor and effect of the said letters patent, grants, charters and gifts.
IIL And be it enacted by the authority ajbreeaid. That all and singular letters patent, giants,
charters and gifts, sealed under the great seal of the colony of New York, heretofore made and
granted unto the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the city of New York be, and are to MI
intents and purposes, hereby ratified and confirmed
IV. And be it enacted by the axUhoriiy aforeeaid^ That the mayor, aldermen and commonalty
of the city of New York, and their successors, shall and may forever hereafter, peaceably have,
hold, use and enjoy, all and every the rights, gilts, charters, grants, powers, libertiis, privileges,
ft-anchlses, customs, usages, constitutions, Immunities, markets, duties, tolls, lands, tenemmts,
estates and hereditaments which have heretofore been given or granted under the mayor, aldermen
and commonalty of the city of New York, by any letters patent, grant, charter or gift, sealed undo-
the seal of the colony of New York.
y. And be it enacted by the authority a/oreea4d. That this present act shall be accepted, taken
and reputed to be a general and pubUo act of assembly ; of which all and every the Judges and
Justices of this colony. In all courts, and all other persons, shall take notice on all occasions what-
soever, as if it were a public act of assembly, relsting to the whole colony; anything herdn con>
twined to the contrary thereof in anywbe notwithstanding.
APPENDIX. 823
Note C.
BEVEREND JONAS MIGHAELinS TO REVEREND ADRIANUS SMOUTIUa
DE YSKDI CUSISTI.
HoaoEABLB Sib, Wbllbiloted Bbotbkk ni Ohbist, Kiho Famro!
The fayorable opportunity which now presents itself of writing to you, Rij^t Reverend Sir, I
cannot let pass, without embracing it, according to my promise. And I first unburden myself In
thk communication of a sorrowful circumstance. It has pleased the Lord, seren weeks after we
arrired in thl) country, to talce from me my good partner, who has been to me for more than six-
teen years, a Tirtnoua, faithful, and in every respect amiable yolce-fellow ; and I find myself with
three children rery much discommoded, without her society and assistance. But wha: have I to
■ay f The Lord himself has done this, in which no one can oppose Him. Wherefore I should also
be willing; Icnowing that all things must woric together for good to those who love Ood. I hope,
therefore, to bear my cross patiently, and by the grace and help of the Lord, not to let the courage
fkll me which I stand in need of In my particular duties.
The Toyage continued long, namely, fh>m the 84th of January till the 7th of April, when we first
set our foot upon thb land. Of sto-m and tempest we hare had no laclc, particula.l> al>out the
Bermudas and the rough coasts of this country, the which fell hard upon the good wife and
children, bat they bore it better as regards sea-siclcness and fear, tiian I had expected. Our fare in
the ship was very poor and scanty, so that my blessed wife and children, not eating with us in the
cabin, on account of the little room In it, had a worse Jot than the sailors themselves ; and that by
reason of a wiclced coolc who annoyed them in every way ; but especially by reason of the captain
himself, who, although I ft-equeiitly complained of it in the most courteous manner, did not concern
himself in the least about correcting the rascal : nor did he, even when they were all siciL, give Uiem
anything which could do them any good, although there was enough in the ship ; though he himself
knew very well where to find it in order, out of meal-times, to fill his own belly. AU the relief whi<rfi
lie gave us, consisted merely in liberal promises, with a drunken head, which promises nothing
followed when he was sober, but a sour face, and thus has he played the brute against the ofilcers,
and kept himself constantly to the wine, both at sea and especially here in the (North) river; so
that he lias narigated the ship daily with a wet sail and an empty head, coming ashore seldom to
the Ooundl and never to the public Divine service. We bore all with silence ou board the ship ;
but it grieves me, when I tUnk of it, on account of my wife ; the mo.e, because she was placed as
she was — not knowing whether she was pregnant, and because the time was so short which she had
yet to Uve. In n^ first Toyage* I trayelled mudi with him, yea, lodged in the same hut, but never
knew that he was such a brute and drunkard. But he was then under the direction of Mr. Lam,
and now he had the principal direction himsell I have also written to Mr. Godyn about it, con-
ddering It necesf ary that It should be known.
Our coming here was agreeable to all, and I hope, by the grace of the Lord, that my serrices wHl
sot be unfi'ultfuL The people, for the most part, are all firee, somewhat rough, and loose, but I find
in most all of them both love and respect toward me ; two things with which hitherto the Lord has
everywhere graciously blessed my labors, and which will produce us fruit In our special calling, as
jonr Right Reverend yourself well knows and finds.
We have first established the form of a church (gemeente), and, as brother Bastiaen Croit Tery
seldom comes down f^om Fort Orange, because the directorship of that fort and the trade there Is
committed to him, it has been thought best to choose two elders for my assistance and for the
proper consideration of all such ecclesiastical matters as might occur, intending the coming year,
if the Lord permit, to let one of them retire, and to choose another in his place from a double
number first lawfully presented by the congregation. One of those whom we have now dKMen is
the Ilonorable Director himself^ and the other b the storekeeper of the company, Jan Huyghen, his
brother-in-law, persons of very good character, as Car as I have been able to learn ; baring both
been formerly in office in the church, the one as deacon, and the other as elder in the Dutch and
French churches, respectively, at WeseL^
• To Brasil
t He had formerly (In leM) been one of the ** Krank-besoeckers,** or eontoUrt qf Ms tick^ at
Manhattan, whence he was sent to Fort Orange as Vice-Director.
X Peter Minult was the Director; Jan Huyghen, his brother-in-law, was probably the **Jaa
Hiiyek,** who was the colleague of Orol as Krankbesoecker at Manhattan in 182a
824 APPENDIX.
We have bad at the firat adminUtratioo of tba Lord^ aapper Aall fifty conunankaots — nol vHlMml
freat Joy and comfort for so many— WallooDii and Dutch ; of whom, a portioo made their first coo-
feiwion of the falih before ui, and other* exhibited their chorch certificates. Othen had forgotten
to bring their ce.t&ficates with them, not thinking that a church would be formed and establWMI
here ; and some, who brought them, had lout them unfortonately In a general conflagration, but
they were admitted upon the satisfactory testimony of others to whom they were known, and who
upon their daily good deportment, since we cannot observe strictly all tbe oroal formahtlea in
making a beginning under such circumstances.
We adminUter the Holy Sacrament of ibe Lord onoe In four moatha, provisionally, ontU a larger
number of people shall otherw.se require The Walloons and French have no servioe on Sundays,
otherwise than in the Dutch Unguage, of which they understand very Ilule. A portion of ih» Wal-
loons a. e go.ng back to the fatherland, either because their years here are expired, or abo becanso
•ome are not wry serviceable to the Company. Some ot them live far away, and could not eom»
ou account of the heavy ralnn and storms, so that it was neither advisable nor was It poadbleto
appoint any speciul service for so small a number with so much uncertainly. NererthokM, the
Loid*^ Supper was adin.nUtered to them in tho French language, and according to tke French mode^
with a preceding discourse, which I bad before me in writing, as I could not trust myaelf extcmpO'
raneou&l>'. If, in this and in other matters, your Rif^t Reverend, and the Reverend Brolhora of tba
Consistories, who have special superintendence over us here,* deem It necessary to bestow npoo at
any correction, Lnstruct-.on, or good advice, it will be agreeable to us, and we will thank your Ri^
Revciend therefo- ; since we must have no other object than the glory of God in the boilding up off
his kingdom, and the salvaiiou of many souls. I keep myself as far as practicable wHhfai the pale
of my calling, wherein I find myself sufficiently occupied. And, although our small Consbtoty
embraces at the most— when BkOther Crol is down hero— not more than four persoos, all of whom,
myself alone excepted, have also public buiiness to attend to, I still hope to separate carefully tho
ecclesiastical from the civil matters which occur, so that each one will be occupied with his own
subject. And, though many things are miwU geiuris^ and political and ecclesiastical persoos can
greatly ass.st each other, nevertheless, the matters and oflices tending together must not be mixed
but kept separate. In order to prevent all oonAision and disorder. As the council of this place con-
stots of good people, who are, however, for the most part simple, and have little experience In pub-
Mc affairs, I would have little objection to serve them In any serious or doblous aflUr whh good
advice, provided I considered myself capable, -and my advice should be asked; In which case I
suppose that I would not do amiss, or be suspected by any one of being a woAvv/aiy/iMr or
uXXoTptottriekOiroi, t
In my opinion it Is very expedient that the Lords Managers of this place should IhmUi plain and
precise Instructions to their Oovemon, that they may dbtinctly know how to regulate themselvea
in all difficult occurrences and events in public matters ; and at the same tlmo that I should have
all sudi Acta Synodalla, as are adopted in tho Synods of Holland, both the special ones relating to
this region, and those which are provincial and national, In relation to ecclesiastical points of dtf*
Acuity, or at least such of them as. In the judgment of tho Reverend Brothers at Amsterdam, weald
be most likely to present themselves to us here. In the meantloke, I hope matters w!ll go well
be.-e. If only on both sides we do the best in all sincerity and honest seal ; whereto I have f.-otn the
first entirely devoted myself, and wherein I have also hitherto, by the grace of God, bad no Josi
cause to complain of any one. And if any dubious matters of importance happen to mo, and
especially If they will admit of any delay, I win apply to the Reverend Brothers for good and pru-
dent advice, to which I have already wholly commended mysett
As to the natives of this country, I find them entirely savage and wild, strangers to all decency,
yea, uncivil and stupid as posts, proficient In all wickedness and godlessness ; devilish men, who
serve nobody but the devil, that is, the spirit, which, in their language, they call manetto; onder
which title they comprehend everything that Is subtle and crafty, and beiyond human skill and
power. They have so much witchcraft, divination, sorcery and wicked tricks, that they coonot be
held in by any bands or locks. They are as thievish and treacherous as they are taD ; and in
cruelty they are more inhuman than the people of Barbary, and fsr exceed the Afirlcaaa. I have
written concerning these things to several persons elsewhere, not doubting that Brother Orol win
have written sufficient to your Right Reverend, or to the Lords Managc-s thereof ; as abo of the
base treachery, and the murders which the Mohicans, at the upper part of thb river, against Fori
Orange, had committed ; but their mlslbrtnne b, by the gracious interposition of tho Lord, Ibr our
good, who, when It pleases him, knows how to pour unexpectedly natural Impulses Into thcM un-
natoral men, In order to hinder their designs. How these people can best be led to the troe 1
* Named at the end of the letter.
t A bwybody, or meddler in othw pe<^le^s aflkinu
APPENDIX. 825
l«dfe of Qod and of the Mediator Ohriit, is hard to say. I caonot myself wonder enou^ who It Is
who has imposed so much upon your Bight Keyerend and many others In the Fatherland, con-
coming the docility of these people and their good nature, the proper pritioipia rdigionU and
fitsHgia Ugit naturm which should be among them; in whom I lukTO as yet been able to dlKOTor
hardly a single good point, except tliat they do not q>eak so Jeeringiy and so scoffingly of the
godlike and glorious msjesty of their Greater, as the Africans dare to, do. But it is because they
liare no certain knowledge of him, or scarcely any. If we speak to them of God, it appears to
them like a dream ; and we are compelled to speak of Him, not under the name of Menotto, wImmu
th<!7 know and serve— for that would be blasphemy— but under that of some great persons, yea, of
the Chieft Sacklema ; by wliich name they — liring without a king— call those who have the com-
mand orer any hundreds among them, and who by our people are called Sackemakers, the which
their people hearing, some will begin to mutter and shake their heads as of a silly fable, and
others, in order to express regard and friendship to such a proposition, will say orlih^ that is, good.
Now, by what means are we to make an inroad or practicable breach for the salvation of this peo-
ple r I take the liberty on this point of enlarging somewhat to your Right Reverend.
Their language, which k first thing to be employed with them, methlnks is entirely peculiar.
Many of our common people call it an easy language, which k soon learned, but I am of a con-
trary opinion. For those who can understand their words to some extent and repeat them, fsil
greatly in the pronunciation, and q>eak a broken language, like the language of Ashdod. For
these people have difficult aspirates and many guttural letters, which are formed more in the throal
than by the mouth, teeth, and lips, which our people not being accustomed to, guess at by ineacs
of their signs, and then imagine that they have accomplished something wonderful. It k true, one
can learn as much as k sufficient for the purposes of trading, but thk occurs almost as much by
signs with the thumb and fingers as by speaking, which could not be done In religions matters. It
ako seems to us that they rather design to conceal their language firom us than to properly com-
municate it, except in things which happen In daily trade ; saying that it k sufficient for us to
understand them in those ; and then they speak only half their reasons with shortened words ; and
frequently call a dosen things and even more by one name ; and all things which have only a rude
resemblance to each other they frequently call by the same name. In truth it k a made up child-
ish language ; so that even those who can best of all speak with the Indians, and get along well la
trade, are nevertheless wholly in the dark and bewildered, when they hear the Indians speaking
with each other by themselves.
Let us then leave the parents in their eondition, and begin with the children who are still young.
80 it should be. But they must be sq^arated in yeuUi firom Uielr parents ; yea, from their whole
naUon. For, without tlik, they would be as muoh given as their parents to heathenish tricks and
deviltries, which are kneaded naturally In their hearts by themselves through a Just Judgment of
God ; so that having once obtained deep root, by habit, they can with difficulty be wholly eradicated
therefkt>m. But thk separation k hard to effeot; for the parents have a strong alTection tor thetr
children, and are very loth to part wUh tbem; and, when th«iy are separated from them, as we have
already had proof, the parents are never contented, but tak^ Uiem awi^ stealthily, or induce them
to run away themselves. Nevertheless, we murt, althoo^ it would be attended with some expense
obtain the children through a sense of gratitude on the part of their parents, and with their con-
sent, by means of presents and promises; in order to place them under the instruction of some
eocperienced and godly schoolmaster, where they may be instructed not only to speak, read, and
write in our language, but ako especially in the ftindamentak of our Chrktian religion, and where,
besides, they will see nothing but good examples and virtuous lives ; but they must speak their
native tongue sometimes among themselves, in order not to forget it, as being evidently a principal
means of spreading the knowledge of religion through the whole nation. In the meantime it musi
not be forgotten to pray to the Lord, with ardent and continual pi-ayers, for hk blessing, who can
make things which are unseen to be quickly and conveniently seen, who gives life to the dead, calk
as nothing that which is, and being rich in mercy has pity on whom he will : as he has compassion-
ated our people to be hk people, when we before were not pitied, and were not hk people ; and haa
washed us clean, sanctified us and Justified us, when we were covered all over with all manner of
eorruptton, calling us to the blessed knowledge of hk Son, and from the power of darkness to hk
marvellous Ugfat. And thk I regard so much the more necessary as the wrath and malediction of
€h>d, which have been found to rest upon thk miserable people hitherto, are the more sevaro.
May God have mercy upon them finally, that the tollness of the heathen may be gradually acoom*
plkhed, and ttie salvation of our God may be here also seen among these wild and savage men. I
hope to keep a watchfU eye over these people, and to learn as much of their language as will be
practicable, and to seek better opportunities for their instruction than hitherto it haa been posslbto
to find.
As to what coneenu myself and By booMhold. IflttdmyieU^by the loss of any good and helpfaig
826
APPENDIX.
partner, yery much hindered and dhUewed for my two little danghten are jret imaU ; maid aeiw
TanU are not here to be had, at least none whom they adrlse me to take ; and the Angola sterea
are thlerfah, laay, and oeelees tnA, The yonnf man whom I took whh me, 1 dlsebarged after
Whitsuntide, for the reason that I eoold not employ him ont of doors at any working of the land,
and in doors he was a bard«i to me Instead of an assistance. He Is now elsewhere at serrioe with
theboen.
The promises which the Lords Masters of the Company had made me of some acres of mrreyed
lands for me to make myself a home, instead of a flree table which otherwise belonged to me, to
wholly of DO aralL For their Honors well know that there are no hones, cows, or laborers to be
obtained here for, money. Btery one is short In these particolars and wants more. The expense
would not trouble me, If an opportunity only offered ; as H would be for our own accommodation,
although there were no profit fh>m it (save that the Honorable Managers owe me as much as the
Talue of a free table) ; for there is here no refire^ment of butter, milk, etc, to be obtained, although
a very high price be offered for them ; for the people who bring them and bespeak them are suqrf-
dous of each other. 80 I will be con4>elled to pass through the winter without butter and other
necessaries, which the ships did not bring with them to be sold here. Tbt rations, which are gfreo
out and charged for high enough are all hard, stale food, as they are used to on board ship, and
fluently this is not very good, and there cannot be obtained as much of It as may be desired. I
began to get some strength throng the grace of the Lord, but In consequence of this hard fare of
beans and grey peas, which are hard enou^ barley, stockfish, etc., without much change, I cannot
become well as I otherwise would. The summer yields something, but what of that for any one
who has no strength? The Indians aJso bring some things, bat one idio has no wares, such as
knives, beads, and the like, or seewan, cannot have any good of them. Though the people trade
■nch things for proper wares, I know not whether it is permitted by the laws of the Company. I
have now ordered ftrom Holland most all neceasarles ; but expect to pass through the winter with
hard and scanty food.
The country yields many good things for the support of life, but they are aU to be gathered In an
uncultivated and wild state. It Is necessary that there should be better regulations established, and
people who have the knowledge and the Implements for gathering things in their season, should
collect them together, as undoubtedly wHl gradually be the case. In the meanwhile, I wish the
Lords Managov to be courteously inquired of; how I can have the opportunity to possess a portion
of land, and at my own expmse to support myself upon It. For as long as there Is no more
accommodation to be obtained here firom the country people, I would be compelled to order every-
thing from the fatheriand at great expense, and with much risk and trouble, or ebe live here apcm
those poor and hard rations alone, which would badly suit me and my children. We want ten or
twelve fkrmers with horses, cows and laborers In proportion, to fiimish us with bread and fresh
butter, milk and cheese. There are convenient places which can be easily protected, and veiy
■oitable ; which can be bought ftt>m the Indians for trifilng toys, or could be occupied without risk;
because we have more than enough shares which have never been cleared, but have been always
resorved for that purpose. The bushiess of fhn is dull on account of a new war of the Ma4dtiba«y
(Mohawks) against the Mohicans at the upper end of this river. There have occurred cruel muiw
ders on both sides. The Mohicans have fled, and their lands are unoccupied, and are very DsttiU
and pleasant It grieves us that there are no people, and that there is no regulation of the LonTii
managers to occupy the same. They feU much wood here to carry to the fatherland, but the vessels
are too few to take much of it. They are making a windmill to saw the wood, and we also have a
gristmill They bake brick here, but it k very poor. There Is good material for burning lime,
namely, oyster-shells, in large quantities. The burning of potash has not succeeded ; the master
and his laborers are all greatly disappointed. We are busy now in building a fort of good quany
stone, which Is to be found not far firom here In abundance. May the Lord only build and watdi
over our walls There Is a good means for making salt ; for there are convenient places, the water
is salt enough, and there Is no want of heat In summer. Besides, as to the waters, both of the sea
and rivers, they yield all kinds of fish ; and as to the land, it abounds in all kinds of game, wild and
in the groves, with vegetables, fhilts, roots, herbs, and plants, both for eating and medicinal pni^
poses, working wonderful cures, which are too long to relate, and which, were It ever so pertinent,
I could not telL Tour Right Reverend has already obtained some knowledge thereof in part, and
wlU be able to obtain flrom others ftirther Information. The country is good and pleasant; tiM
climate Is healthy, notwithstanding the sudden changes of cold and heat. The sun is very warm ;
the winter strong and severe, and contUiues taSX as long as in our country. The best remedy is net
to spare the wood— of which there is enough— and to cover oneself weU with ron^ skins whidi can
also ea^ly be obtained.
The harvest, Ctod be prabed, is in the bams, and is better gathered than ever befbre. Hie
^ound is fertile enough to reward labor, but they most dean It well, and manure and cultivate It
APPENDIX. 827
the same as oar lands require. It has hitherto lutppened much worse, because many of the people
are not rery laborious, or could not obtain their proper necesearlee for want of bread. But it now
begins to go on better, and It would be entirely different now if the masters would only send good
laborers, and make regulations of all matters, in order, with what the land itself produces, to do for
the best
I had promised (to write) to the Honorable Brothers, Rudolphus Petri, Joannes SylTius, and Dom.
Cloppenburg, who with your Honor were charged with the superintendence of th«e regions ;* but
as this would take long, and the time is short, and my occupations at the present time maoy, will
your Right Rererend be pleased to give my friendly and kind regards to their Rererends, and to
excuse me, on condition that I remain their debtor to ftilfill my promise— God willing— by the next
voyage. Will you, also, give my sincere respects to the Reverend Dom Triglandius, and to all the
brothers of the Consistory besides, to all of whom I have not thought It necessary to write particu-
larly at this thne, as they are made by me participants In these tidings, and are content to be fed
flrom the hand of your Right Reverend. If It shall be convenient for your Honor, or any of the
Reverend Brothers, to write hither to me a letter concerning matters which m!^t be important in
any degree to me, it would be very Interesting to me, living here in a savage land without any
society of our order, and would be a spur to write more assiduously to the Reverend Brothers con-
cerning what might happen here. And especially do not forget my hearty salutation to the beloyed
wife and brother-in-law of your Right Reve* end, who have shown me nothing but friendship and
kindness above my deserts. If there Is anything in wh'ch I can In return serve or gratify your
Bight Reverend, I will be glad to do so, and will not be behindhand In anything Concluding then
herewith, and commending myself in your Right Reverend*s favorable and holy prayers to tha
Lord,
Honored and learned Sir, Beloved Brother in Christ and Kind Friend ;
Commending your Right Reverend and all of you to Almighty God, by his Grace, t« continued
health and prosperity, and to eternal salvation of heart.
From the island of Manhatas in New Netherland, Uiis 11th August, anno 1688, by me your Bl^t
Reyerend^s obedient in Christ,
J0>18 HlOHASLIDS.
(Indorsed.) The honorable, learned and pious Mr. Adrian Smoutlus, fiUthfbl minister of the holy
gospel of Christ In hb church, dwelling upon the Heerengracht, not far firom the houM of tbe
West India Company, Amsterdam. By the care of a friend whom God preMrre.
(Sealed with a wafered signet not discernible.)
Note D.f
WnuAM BriiucAN, the founder of the Beekman family In the dty of New Tork, emigrated tnm
Holland to New Amsterdam in the same ship with Petrus Stuyvesant In 1647. He married Catherine
Tan Bough, the daughter of a well known trader, and purchased Corlaer*s Hook of Jacobus Tan
Corlaer, its or'f^al proprietor, where he continued to reside for several years. He was afterward
appointed by Stuyvesant, as vice-director of the Dutch colony at the mouth of the Delaware, and
after serving for some t me In this capacity, he removed to Esopus where he resided for a fewyearst
then returned to the dty In 1670, and purchased the fkum formerly owned by Thomas Hall, stretch-
ing along the East River In the vldnlty of Beekman street, and lying between the Van Tlenhoyen
farm on the north and Bestevaar's Cripple Bush on the south, where he continued the brewing busi-
ness established there by Hall. The Cripple Bush was afterward Incorporated with this property,
and known henceforth as Beekman's Swamp.
Ifr. Nljenhub states that It was so committed to some of the ministers of Amsterdam by the
Synod of North Holland ; and the ministers above-mentioned were all at that time active mlnbten
at Amsterdam, where Sylvius and Trigiandiua had been since 1610, Petri since 1618, and Cloppen-
burg since 1681.
t For the greater portion of the data contained In the fallowing biographical sketches of some of
the most prominent families of New Tork, we are Indebted to genealogical memoranda, prepared
by Governor John Jay with a view to pubUcatlon, and kindly placed at our disposal by his grandson,
John Jay, Esq., of New York dty.
828
APPENDIX.
WUUam Beekman dl«d In 1707, at the age of e'gbij-tvt, leavlnf an only dandier, Maria, who
married Nicholiu WUliam ^tajresaiii, the eon of the goTemor, and three fons, Henry, Gerard, and
Johannes, who became the ancestori of the present onmerons family of the name. This CamQy
•honld be distingoished from that of Hendrick Beeckman, who settled in New Jersey almost sfanal-
taneonsly with the arriral of WUliam Beekman at New Tork.
N'oTs E.
GoTKavoi Pbtius SruTTssAVT, of Breda or Utrecbt,aniTed at New Tork from Amsteraam 9n tke
nth of May, 1M7. He married Judith Bayard, a refugee fh>m France, by whom he had two sons ;
Balthasar Lacar, bom in 1M7, and Nicholas WUUam, bom in 1648.
After the surrender of the province to the English, Balthasar removed to St. Thomas In the West
Indies, where he married and died In 167$, leaving one daufj^ter, who married Thomas Tacsamaker.
Nicholas WiUtam, the second son of the governor and ancestor of ihe present funily of the name,
married Maria Beekman of New Amsterdam, who died without issue. He then married KIkabelh
Sleghtenhorst, by whom he had two sons and one daughter ; of these, Anna, the eldest, married the
Rev. Mr. Pritchard, a clergyman of the Church of England, and died without children : Petros, the
second, was drowned in 1705, having never been married ; and Gerardus, the youngest, married
Judith Bayard, by whom he had four sons, two of whom survived thdr father. Nicholas William, \ht
eldest of these, died unmarried at the age of flfty-elg^t. Petrus married Margaret, the daughter of
Gilbert Livingston, by whom he had eleven children, five of whom died in Infancy. Of the survtr*
OTB, Judith married Benjamin Wlnthrop in 1785 ; Cornelia married Dirck Ten Broeck In the same
year; EUsabeth married Colonel Nicholas Fish ; Margaret died unmarried in 1894; NidioIaaWll>
Uam died in 1888, leaving several chUdren ; and Peter Gerard, long known as the president of tiM
Uistorical Society, died in the early part of the present year.
Note F.
OLom Enyanx Vav Oobtlaxdt, the founder of the opulent family of that name, emigrated
from Holland with a military company In 1687, and soon after entered the service of the West India
Company as commissary of eargoes, in whidi he continued for ten years. He afterward engaged
In the brewing business, in which he amassed a large fortune. He was an Influential poUtidan ; was
president of the eouncU of Nine M«n In the days of Stny vesant, and held various pubUo offices.
He married the daughter of Govert Loockermans, a wealthy merdiant, and through her inheritance,
together wHh his own enterprise, became possessed of a large property. A ponion of his estate lay on
the west side of Broadway, In the vicinity of the street that now perpetuates bis name. He died in
1688, leaving four daughters ; Maria who married Jeremiaa Tan Rensselaer ; Catherine who married,
first, John Dervall, and afterward, Frederick PhiUpse ; Ooraelia who married Brandt Bchuyler; and
Sophia, who married Andrew Teller : and three sons; Stephanns, who married Gertruyd Schuyler;
Jaoobus, who married Eva PhlUpse; and Jolm, iriio died unmarried. The two eldest afterward
became mayon of tiid dty ; Stephanns was mayor In the days of the so-called Leisler rebellion;
and the official rival of Peter Delanoy. He afterwards became the proprietor of the Tan Cort-
landi manor, near PeekskUl, and died In 1701, leaving numerous descendants. Jacobus who was
mayor in 1710 and 1719,was a merchant in the dty of New Toi^ and the proprietor of a large plan*
tation in the vicinity of Tonken. He died in 1780, leaving one son, FredericL, who married the
daughter of Augustus Jay and Inherited the Wcatcheater estate; and three daughters; Margaret,
who married Abraham De Pcyster; Ann, wbo married John Chambert; and Mary, who married
Peter Jay.
APPENDIX. 829
Note G.
LiKB many of the pioneer families of New Amsterdara, the family of Bayard is of French origliL
The flnt of the name of whom we haye record wai a professor of theology at Paris, whence he was
driTen with his fomlly to Holland by reUgloos persecution. He/e one of his sons manied the sister
of Governor Stuyvesant, and died a few years after, learing her with three children, Balthasar,
Nicholas and Petrus. Soon after his death, his widow removed with her sons to New Amsterdam,
of which Stny vesant, doubly related to them through his wife and sister, was then governor, where
under his auspices, they soon rose to prominence. After the cession of the city to the English,
Nicholks, then a youth, received the appointment of clerk of the common council, the records of
which at that time were Icept In Dutch and English. Other preferments sobn followed, which
secured him a position in public life, while the mercantile pursuits In which he was also engaged,
increased his fortune, and soon made him one of the most opulent men of the dty. His adventurous
career, we have traced in the progress of our history. He died in 1711, leaving a son, Samuel, who
inherited his large property. This was scattered over various parts of the island ; the principal
tract of land, known long after as ** the Bayard Farm,** lying along the west side of the Bowery,
south of Bieecker street. His brother, Balthaaar, married the daughter of Gorert Loockermans, and
established himself In the city as a brewer. He left a son and three dau^ters, the first of whom
married Gerardus Stuyv^ant, grandson of the governor ; the second married the Huguenot, Augus-
tus Jay ; and the third married Mr. Yerplanck. The history of the son cannot wjth certainty be
traced ; he is supposed to haf e been Jacobus Bayard, the ancestor of the Boston family of that
name. Petrus Bayard, the thhrd of the original brothers, married a step-dan|^ter of Mayor Rom*
bouts, and engaged in mercantile parsiiita.
Note H.
Fbidbbick Pbilipss, or Flypsen, for so he wrote bis name, was a native of Bohemia, whence his
mother, being a Protestant, was forced, after the death of her husband, to flee to Holland with her
children and the little property that she could gather fk-om the wreck of her estate. Here, she
apprenticed Frederick to a carpenter, under whose Instructions he became an excellent workman.
He emigrated to New Amsterdam during the administration of Stuyyesant, and worked for a time
at his trade, but being a man of talent and enterprise, he soon exchanged It for the more profitable
fur-trade, and became known as a successful merchant ; to which success, his marriage with Marga-
get Tan Hardenbrook, the widow of Pieter Rudolphus, a flourishing trader to whose business he
succeeded, contributed not a little. This lady possessed remarkable energy and practical talent,
as is evinced from the fact that she made several voyages to Holland as her husband^s supercargo.
Upon her death, he increased his fortune still more, by his marriage witti Catherine, the daughter
of the wealthy OlofTe Tan Gortiandt, and widow and sole heir of John Dervall, a rich merchant.
Through theee wealthy alliances, aided by his own energy and sldll, the poor carpenter boy became
the richest merchant of New Amsterdam— the Astor of Ids day. He entered into public life, and
filled several prominent offices both under the Dutch and the English governments. He died in
1702, and was buried at his Manor of Phlllpsbnrgh In Westchester County. He left two sons and
two daughters, all the children of his first wife.
Frederick, the eldest of these, married a lady firom Barbadoes, and died young, leaving one son,
abo na j)ed Fi ederick, who became one of the Judges of the Sup erne Court. He married a lady of
the Brockholst family, and had two sons, Frederick and Philip, and two daughters.
Frederick, the fou.th of the name, married a daughter of Charles Willlanu,an English gentleman
who held an office in the custom house of the dty. He possessed medioc e talenU>, was benevolent
and amiable, and devoted to horticultural pursuits. At the commencement of the Revolution, he
inclined to the side of the Whigs, but was afterward persuaded to favor the Tories, and was exiled
to Connecticut on parole. He afterward obtained permission to visit the dty while In the hands of
the British, and, when summoned to return, was unwisely persuaded by his friends to refuse obedi-
ence, in consequence of which, after Uie declaration of peace, h's eatate was confiscated and him-
self and family exiled to England, where he died, leaying several sons and daughters. One of these
married Lord Strangford.
830
APPENDIX,
PhlHp, the brother of the last named Frederick, married the daughter of Captain Nathaniel Blai^
■ton, bj whom he had feveral children. Of the two dangfat«rt of Frederick FlTpaen the elder, Sr«
married JacobaBYan Cortlandt, and Annetje married Philip French.
Adolphoa, the second ion of Frederick Fljrpten the elder, was a man of superior talents, well edu-
cated, sedate, highly respected and popular, except that he was penurious. He was a member of the
Council, a Judge of the Supreme Court, and for many years Speaker of the Assembly. Be died a
bachelor, in January, 1750, In the 85th year of his age, leaving a great estate.
Of the two daughters of Frederick the third, one married Beyerley Robinson ; the other married
Colonel Roger Morris. To these, with his son PhiUp, the father dcTised in equal shares the tract of
land called the upper patent, which, as bdr at law, he inherited ft-om hto great-uncle Adolpfana
Note !•
Tn first American ancestor of the fkmlly of Schuyler came firom Holland with his wife, a lady of
the family of Sleghtenhorst, of OuUderland. They had four sons, Peter, John, Arent and PhlUp,
and three daughters, Alida, Gkrtmde and Margaret.
Of these, Peter was the famous Colonel— the first mayor of Albany, the man whose sagacious
councils preserved the province fh>m the horron of an Indian war. He possessed the unbounded
confidence of the Indians, and, In 1710, accompanied a party of Mohawk Chieft to England for the
purpose of Inciting the government to expel the French from Canada. After the return of Hun-
ter, in 1719, the government of the province derolved upon him as eldest member of the Council
until the arrival of Governor Burnet
John was the grandfather of Qoieral Philip Schuyler of the Rerolution.
Arent settled In New Jersey.
PhiUp was klUed In battie.
Allda married Domlne Nicholas Van Rensselaer, and after his death, Robert Urlngston, the flmt
proprietor of the Manor of Livingston.
Qertrude married Stephanus Tan CorUandt.
Margaret married Robert Livingston.
Note J .
RoBUT LiviROSTOM, the first of the American family of that name, was the son of the Rer. John
Livingston, the dissenting minister of Anerum, in Scotland, who, refusing to take the oath of alle-
giance in 1668, was banished to Rotterdam, where he became the minister of the Scot's chapel, and
died in 1672. Robert Livingston was bom at Anerum In 1654, and emigrated to America with his
nephew Robert, about 1678, where he procured a patent from the crown for the manor of Livings*
ton. He was Speaker of the General Assembly, and, for many years, Clerk of the dty of Albany.
He married Alida, sister of CoL Peter Schuyler, by whom he had three sons» Philip, Gilbert and
Robert.
Philip, the eldest of these, and second proprietor of Li^ngston Bfanor, was a prominent merchant
of the city of New York, residing in a large house In Broad street, at that time the fashionable
quarter of the town. His family played a prominent part In the stirring times of the ReTointlon.
His only daughter, Sarah, married William Alexander, Lord Stirling. Robert, his eldest son, Ib-
herited the Manor ; Peter Tan Brugh and John became merchants of the city ; Philip, also a mer-
chant, figured among the earliest leaders of the Revolutionary party, and Immortalised his name hj
subscribing it to the Declaration of Independence, and William became the patriot Governor of
New Jersey.
GUbert, the second son of the first proprietor of Livingston Manor, married ComeUa BeAmaa,
and became County Clerk of Ulster, where he died, leaving numerous descoidants.
Robert, the third son of the first Robert LiTlngston, and ancestor of Chancellor and Major Ur-
APPENDIX. 831
IngBton, married Margaret Hovenden. Their son, Robert R., the proprietor of Clermont, married
Margaret Beekman, by whom he had four sona and six dau^tera.
Robert R., the eldest of the familj, was bom in the dty of New Tork. He graduated at King's
College In 1765, and was appointed by Ooremor Trjon, Recorder of the dty, an office which he
resigned on the approach of the Revolution, to throw himself with ardor into th<; arms of the patriot
party, of which he soon became a foremost leader — one of the flramers of the National Declaration
of Independence. Upon the adoption of the Constitatlon of the State of New York, he reodred
the appointment of first Chancellor under the new government. He was afterward dispatched on
an embassy to France, where he made the acquaintance of Fulton, and aided him in maturing his
project of steam navigation. He was distinguished for his love of practical sdence, and the
progress of useful aits, and may deservedly be ranked among the greatest beneftictors of his native
dty.
Henry B., the second son of the first Robert R. Lirlngston, became a colonel in the army.
John was a merchant,
Edward became Mayer of New Tork In 1801. Before his term of office expired, he resigned the
mayoralty and removed to Louisiana, where, In 1828, he was dected a member of Congress, and In
1929 was appointed to a seat in the Senate. In 1881, he was appointed Secretary of State by
Oen. Jackson, whose aid he had been in the battle of New Orleans, and In 1888 was dispatched on
a mission to France. He returned. In 1885, to hk seat at Rhinebeck, on the banks of the Hudson,
where he died In the following year.
Margaret married Thomas Tillotson.
Janet married General Montgomery.
Gertrude married Governor Morgan Lewis.
Allda married General Armstrong, the boy-soldier of the Revolution— a captain at 16 ; a mi^or
at IS; a colonel at 20 ; and a general and member of Congress at 25.
Catherine married the Rev. Mr. Gartlson.
Joanna married Peter R. Livingston.
Robert Livingston, the nephew of the first proprietor of the manor, married Margaret Schuyler,
and became the founder of a distinct branch of the fkmily. His ipranddanghter, Janet, became
the wife of Chlef-JusUoe WilUam Smith, the historian of the State of New York.
Note K.
Tea estate of Morrisania was purchased Jointly by two brothers of Welch descent by the names of
Richard and Lewis Morris, about the year 1670. Quoting Mr. Sparks, the biographer of Governeur
Morris, as authority, Richard, the father of Chief-Justice Morris, was an officer In CromwelPs
army, who fled to America upon the Restoration, and settled first on the estate ; and, dying soon
after, left his only son, Lewis, to the guardianship of his brother, a merchant of Barbadoee, who
followed him to the province In 1778. Other historians assert that this uncle was the officer, who
fled to America in the disgube of a Quaker, and afterward took charge of his infant nephew. Be
thb as It may, young Lewis grew up under the care of hb uncle, who died childless, leaving him
tbb estate, together with a la ge tract of land In New Jersey, where he afterward settled, and be-
came governor of that State. Chief-Justice Morris died and was buried at Morrisania In 1746, aged
seventy-three. He left th.ee sons ; Lewis, Robert Hunter, and James. Robert Hunter Inherited
the New Jersey property, and afte ward became governor of that State. James died young.
Lewis had thi ee sons. Gene al Lewis Mor. is, whose name is handed down to posterity as one of the
dgners of the Declaration of Independence ; Judge Morris ; and Gouverneur Morris, afterward mln-
ister to France, and one of the Tamers of the Constitution of the United States.
N O T B L .
AvousTtTS Jat, the first of the Jay family who settled In America, was the son of M. Pierre Jaj, a
wealthy gentleman of the Protestant dty of La Rochelle.
The family of Jay in Francois one of great antiquity, and their name occurs fk-equently In the
French annals. It furnished several P**^ldents of the Parliament of I'aris, and branches of it
832 APPENDIX.
were Selgneurt of Bolsequla, MoatOTineaa and Ch4te*a Oannier, In Polctoo. From Polctoa «m
Cunily of Pierre Jay had removed to Rocbelle, wher« b« married the daughter of M. Fntnfcria.
On the rerocAtion of the Edict of Naote*, and the fuoeeedinf perMcation and exile of the Ho-
gnenou, M. Pierre Jay, in l<b6, ftecretly tent hit family to Kngland, excepting his ton Angnstaa,
then absent on an exploring expedition to AfHca, and after being himself arretted and impriaoned
for some time in the Tour ds la LanUm^ ht racceeded in following them, learing a large estate,
which was immediately confiscated. He lived and died at Plymouth, haring lost a son
fh>m wouDd<» received in the Battle of the Boyne, ICOO, where he fbnght as a Tolunteer for the Pro*
testant King William, and leaTing a daughter, who had married Mr. Peloqnim, the Mayor of
BridtoL
Augustus Jay, the son of Pierre, on returning to Kocfaelle, and finding bis family exiled, aban-
doned Fraoce for America, salHog ftrom the Isle of Rh6 to Charleston, where the Hugnoiots bad
founded a colony, and coming thence to New Toiic. Here Augustus recefved firom William in.. In
whose service he brother had died, letters of denisation under the great seal of England, and
prosecuted his business as a merchant saoceitAaUy, until It was interrupted by the war between
franoe and England. On two successlre voyages his vessel was captured by prlvatee s, and him-
self some time detained as a prisoner. On the last ooeasion he was carried to France, and made
Us escape, and at no little risk vlsltod hit annt at Rocfaelle, and cecaped without being discovered.
From France he went to Denmark, and firom there to England to visit his fntber. On landing In
England he was arrested as a spy in the service of France, but his father's r^resentation procured
Us immediate release, and a passport from the Secretary of State.
Returning to New York, he married, SSth October, 1<I97, Anna Maria, the daughter of Bal-
thazar Bayard, whose ancestors had left France for Holland on account of their religion, and whose
fiamUy was one of the most leading and influential in the colony. The mother of Anna Maria was
a daughter of Govert Lockerman, then at the head of the Dutch merchants. Another dan^ter,
Ann, had married Oliver Stephen Van Cortlandt, the Secretary of Gov. KiefL
Augustus took an interest in the affairs of the city, but bore little part in the politics of the day,
which offered no atti action to gentlemen of position. The rivalry between the Dntdi and g^gmh,
subsequently mollified by intermarriages, was then in its hdglkt, and Lord Bellamont, in his first
speech to the Assembly in 1698, remarked, that ** he found a divided people and an empty treaf>
sury."
The name of Augustus occurs Arequently in the dty records, and some lots boui^t by him in ITIt,
on the northwest corner of Broad and Stone streets, are still held in the family. Here he erected
a large two-titory dwelling-house, with a Aront of Holland brick, with a courtyard paved with Bris-
tol stones, and there he resided until his death, in 1780.
Augiistus left three daughte.8-Ju<Uth, who married Oomellus Tan Home; Maria, who married
Fierre Talette ; Frances, who married Frederick Tan Gortlandt — and one ion.
Peter Jay, bom at New York 8d Nov., 1704, and educated In England under the charge of Us
uncle, Mr. Peloguln. Soon after his return to New York in 1798, he married Mary, the dao^tor of
Jacobus Van Cortlandt, the proprietor of the Tan Oortlandt Patent in Westchester, of wUch tho
Jay estate at Bedford was a part.
Be early retired ffom active life to his flarm at Rye, Weetchestor County, ttom wUch he was
driven during the Revolution, and died at Pongfakeepsie, New Yoric, 17th April, 1788. He had ten
cUldren, among them Eve, who married Henry Monro (the tkthtr of the late Peter Jay MunroX
Sir James Jay, eminent as a physician, and John Jay.
John Jay wa-t bom in the city of New York in 1746. He graduated at King's College In 1764, and,
four years afterward, was admitted to the bar. Few played a more conspicuous part in the revo-
lution which followed, or aided more In attaining the ultimate result. A delegate to the Continental
Congress of 1774, ft-om his pen proceeded the eloquent address presented by that body to the people
of 0 . eat Britain, which still wins the admiration of eve y reader. In 1776, he was chosen President
i»r I ongi ess. Resigning this position for the service of h!s native State, when the dty had fkllen a
|i vy to the D.it'th and the provincial Congress was driven about fh>m place to place through the
dungr..ou8 region along the shores of the Hudson, he won a reputation as the head of the well-known
Couintlttee of Safety, which Tvatched over the neutral ground, infested by the Skinners and Cow
Boys. In 1777, he was a member of the Convention which framed the Constitution of New York,
and the first draft of that instraroent proceeded fkom his pen. On the organisation of the govern-
ment In the following year, he received the appointment of Chief Justice of the State. In 1779, he
was dispatched as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, where he remained until 1789, vainly endeavor-
ing to effect a treaty of alliance, when he was transferred to England as one of the Commlsdoners
to negotiate a peace ; and it was chiefly throng his eflbrta that the intrigue to tobstitute a twenty-
rears' truce for a full acknowledgment of Independence, wUch had nearly entrapped Franklin, was
foiled, and a definitive treaty obtained, whereby England surrendered all claims to her former
APPENDIX. 833
colonies. This done, he reinraed to the United States, and assumed the charge of foreign affairs,
which he conthiued to administer until the adoption of the present Oo^tltutlon In 1789, when he
was appointed by Washington first Chief Justice of the United SUtes. In 1784, he wss again
dispatched as Enroy Extraordinary to Great Britain, where he negotiated the treaty henceforth
known by his name. In 1795, before his return, he was elected goTemor of his native State, an
office which he filled until 1801, when, declining a refiieotion, he withdrew fh>m public alBsin, and
passed the remainder of his days In study and retirement ; dying In 1829, at the age of eighty-four.
Few men contributed more both by word and deed to our independence, and New York may Justly
be proud of her patriot clUsen, John Jay, the Berolutlonary statesman.
John J at married 28th April, 1774, Sarah Van Burj^, daughter of GoTemor Wm. Llrlngston of
New Jersey. Her portrait and a brief sketch of this lady may be fbund In Griswold*s Republican
Oourtw She died 2Sth May, 1809L Their children wer«— Prib ▲oqubtus, bom 24th January, 1776,
an eminent lawyer and at one time recorder of New York; married Maryi daughter of General
Matthew Clarkson, and died In 1844, having had el^t children, of whom the eldest son. Dr. John
Clarkson Jay, well known as a oonehologlst, resides upon the Rye estate. He married Laura,
daughter of Nathaniel Prime, and has, among other children, Peter and John Clarkson. The
other children were Peter Augustus, who married Josephine Pearson, and died, leaving one son,
Augustus; Mary, who married Frederick Prime; Sarah, who married Wm. Dawson; Catharine
Helen, who married Henry Augustus DuBois; Anna Maria, who married Henry E. Pierrepont;
Elizabeth Clarkson, and Susan MatUda, who married Matthew Qarkson. Mabia, bom at Madrid,
1782, married Goldsboro* Banyer. AxH Jat, bom at Passy, France, August ISth, 1788. These two
sisters, of whom a memorial was published by Prot McVIckar, died at New York within a few days
of each other in November, 1856. Wiluam Jay, bom 16th June, 17S9. Ffarst Judge of Westchester
County, known as an author and philanthropist ; married Augusta, daughter of John McVIckar,
Esquire, died October 14th, 1858. His children were, Anna, who married Rev. L. P. W. Valch ;
Maria, who married John F. Butterworth ; Louisa, who married Dr. Alexander M. Braen ; Eliza,
who married Henry Edward Pellew, Esq., of England, and Augusta, and one son. JoHir Jat, who
succeeded to the estate at Bedford, and married Eleanor, daughter of Hlckson W. Field, Esq., and
has children— Eleanor, Augusta, Mary and Anna, and one son, WUllam Jaj.
Note M.
Thb American ancestor of the well-known DeLancey family was Stephen De Lancey, a native of
Caen, In Normandy. Being a Protestant, he fled from the persecutions of Louis XIY. to New York,
together with his sister and her husband, Mr. Barbaric. He brought some property with htm and
occasionally received aid from his mother who remained In Normandy. He was esteemed by hte
fellow citizens as a sensible and upright man, and an active, skillAiI and successftil merchant.
Stephen De Lancey married a daughter of Steplianus Tan Cortlandt of the Cortlandt Manor, by
whom ) e had four sons, James, Oliver, Peter, and John, the latter of whom died young and unmar-
ried ; and two daughters, Susannah and Anne.
James was educated at the University of Cambridge. His talents were of a superior order, and
his manners were popular and convivial ; he was moral, but not reli^ous. The ascenden<7 which
he derived from his intellect and educaUon rendered his example contagious, and his brothers
Imbibed it as well as many others. He was for many years chosen Trustee of the colony, an office
which he filled with general approbation. He was also a member of the council, and was several times
called to act as Ueutenant-govemor. His political and personal influence exceeded that of any
other man In the colony. He married a daughter of Caleb Heathcote, and left three sons and four
daughters. Of these, James possessed some talent, but was far Inferior to his father. He Inherited
valuable estates, which were confiscated after the Revolution on account of his adherence to the
royalist party. He afterward died in England. Stephen, the second son, to whom his father had
given a good estate In the manor of Cortlandt, was weak, though not vldous, and died nnmarried.
John, the third son, was educated In England at Harrow, and at the military school at Greenwich.
He entered the British army, and after serving for some years, Uirew up his comndsdon as eH>taIn
and returned to his grandfather Heathoote*s estate at Mamaroneck, where he died In 1828, leaving
three sons and four daughters. Of these, Thomas, the eldest, died a Judge of Westchester County,
Edward Heathcote, the second, is the present bishop of Western New York, and Edward Floyd, tho
53
834
APPENDIX.
jOQOgeit, died in MriymAobood. Rto eldeft dftaght«r, Anne Churlotte, married Jolm Loodoa
MeAdam of road-nwldiif memory ; and Bnsan AagoiU, tbe Mcond, married J. Penimore Cooper
the American noTeflak ICaiy, the eldest daagfater of Lteotenaot-OoTemor De Lanoey, became the
wife of William Wattoa of Meir York ; Anne married the Hon. Thomas Jonss, of Fort Neck, and
Susannah died unmarried.
OBTer, the seoood son of Stephen De Lancey, had bat an Imperfect edneation. His talenta were
nearly equal to those of his brother James, and liis knowledge of human nature and skill in apply-
Ing it were rarely exceeded, but his disposition was orerbearing and his temper irascible. He
took an actire part with the British during the Rerolutiooary struggle. In requital for wh!^ his
estates were confiscated by goremment upon the restoration of peace. He married a danghter of
Moses r^aak, a merchant of New York, and died in England, learing two sons, Stqihen acd Ottrer,
and four dan^ters, one of whom married OoL John Cmger, and another Sir WUBam Draper.
Stephen, the eldest son of Oliver De Lancey.was educated at Eaton, and bred a lawyer In New
Tork. He married a daughter of Eer. Dr. Barclay, and died In New Hampshire, learing sereral
children, among the rest, Sir WUUam DeLancey, who fell at the battle of Waterloo. OUrer, tbe
second sen, became an officer In the British army.
Peter, tbe third son of Stephen De Lanoey, had good natural talents, and was frank and Hberal;
bot lll!terale and coarse in his tastes and habits. He married a daughter of CadwaBader Oolden,
by whom he had six sons and fire daogfatera. Of these, Stephei> married and maoTed to Canada ;
Peter fell in a duel in England ; John married a lady of the Wiekham ftunUy, who died tearing him
one daughter, who subsequently became the wife of Judge Tates ; Samuel commanded a regiment
of Tory reltagees In the Rerolutloaary war ; OUrer was for some time in the British naYy,but finally
returned to America, and Warren became a termer in Dutchess County. His eldest daughter, Ann,
remained unmarried ; Alice married Ralph Ixard, of South Carolina ; Kliiabeth died unmar-
ried ; Susan married CoL Thomas Barclay ; and Jane married John Watts.
The ehlest daughter of the first Stephen DeLancey married Captain, afterwards 8b Peter Warren^
and the second married John Watts, a member of the Goremorli eoundL
Note N.
to the betrayed inhabitants of the city and colony op
NEW YORK.
Mr SBAB FKLLOW-CITUBltS AVO OOUVTBTMXir,
In a Day when tbe Minions of Trr^naj and Despotism in the Mother Country, and the
Colonies, are indefatigable in Uylng erery Snare that their maierolent and corrupt Hearts can
■arae•^ to ensure a free people ; when this unfortunate Country has been striving under many
Disadvantages for three Years past, to preserve their Freedom ; whldi to an Englishman is as dear
as his life,— when the MerchanU of this City and the Capital towns on the Continent, have nobly
and cheerftilly sacrificed their private Interests to tbe publlck Good, rather than to promote the
Designs of tbe Enemiss of our happy Constitution ; it might Justly be expected, that in this day of
Constitutional Light, the Representatives of tUs Colony, would not be so hardy, nor so loei to all
sense of Duty to their ConstltucnU (especially after the laudable Example of the Colonies of Mas-
sachusetts Bay and South Carolina, before them) as to betray the Trust committed to them. This
they have done, in paMing the Tote to give the Troops a Thousand Pounds out of any Monies that
m^ be in the Treasury and another Thousand out of the Money that may be issued to be put out
on Loan, which the Colony wlU be obliged to make good ; whether the Bill for that Purpose does or
does not obUln the Royal Assent. And that they have betrayed the UberUee of the People, wiU
appear from the following Consideration, to wit : That the Ministry are waiting to see, whether
the Colonies, in their distressed Circumstances, wiU divide on any of the grand Polnta, which they
are united in, and contending for, with the Mother Country ; by which they may carry their De-
signi against the Colonies, and keep in the Administration. Por if this should not take plaoe, the
Acts most be repealed; which wiU be a Reflection on their Conduct, and wHI bring the Reproach
and Clamour of the Nation on them for the loss of Trade to the Empire, which their Mal-condnct
bu oeeailoned.
APPENDIX. 835
Oar g.-aaUng Money to the Troops, It !• Implicitly adcoowledging the Authority that enacted
the Revenue Acta, and their being obligatory on us. As theee Aote were enacted for the exp* e^
Porpoee of taking Money oat of oar PockeU, without our Consent ; and to provide for the Defending
and Support of Government In America ; which Revenue we say by our Grant of Money, is uot suf-
ficient for the Purpose aforesaid ; therefore, we supply the Deficiency.
This was the Point of Yiew in which these AoU were considered in the Massachusetts and South
Carolina Assemblies, and to prevent that dangerous Construction, refuted it On this important
Point we have differed with these spirited Colonies, and do Implicitly approve of all the tyrannical
conduct of the Ministry to the Bostonians, and by Implication censure their laudable and patriotic
DeniaL For if they did right (which every sensible American thinks they didj in refusing to pay
the Billeting Money, surely we have done wrong, very wrong, in giving It. But our Assembly
says, they do their Duty, In granting the Money to the Troops ; consequently the Massachusetts
Assembly d!d not do theirs. In not obeying the Ministerial Mandates. If this Is not a division tu
this grand Point, I know uot what it is : and I doubt not but the Ministry will let us know it to our
cost; for it trill furniah them with argumenU and fresh Courage. Is this a grateful Retaliation to
that brave and seniiibie People, for the spirited and early notice they took of the Suspend.ng Act ?
No, It is base Ingratitude, and betraying the Common Cause of Liberty.
To what other influence than the deserting the American Cause, can the Ministry attribute so
pusillanimous a Conduct, as this of the Assembly ? So repugnant and subversive of all the means
we have u^ed, and opposition that has been made by this and the other Colonies, to the tyrannical
Conduct of the British Parliament I To no other. Can there be a more ridiculous Farce to Impose
on the People, than for the Assembly to vote their Thanks to be given to the Merchants, for enter-
ing into an Agreement not to Impoi-t Goods from Britain, until the Revenue Acts should be repealed
while they at the same Time counteract it by countenancing British Acts, and complying with
Min'sterial Requisitions, Incompatible with our Freedom f Surely there can not.
And what maked tlie Assembly's granting this Money the more grievous. Is, that It goes to the
Support of the T oops kept here, not to protect, but to enslave us. Has not the truth of this Re-
mark been lately exem]>lified in the audacious, domineering and Inhuman MaJ. Pullalne, who
ordered a guard to protect a sordid Miscreant, that transgressed the laudable Non Importation
Agreement of the Merchants, In order to break that, which Is the only means left them, under God,
to baffle the Designs of their Enemies, to enslave this Continent. This Consideration alone ought
to be sufficient to induce a free People, not to grant the Troops any Supply whatsoever, if we had
no dispute with the Mother Country, that made it nece^ary not to concede anything that might
destroy our Freedom ; Reasons of Economy and good Policy suggest that we ought not to grant the
Tioops Money.
Whoever is the least acquainted with the English History, must know that Grants frequently
made to the Crown, are not to be refused, but with some Degree of Danger of disturbing the Re-
pose of the Kingdom or Colony. This evinces the expediency of our stopping these Grants now,
while we are embroiled with the Mother Country ; so that we may not, after the Grand Controversy
is settled, have a new Bone of Contention about the Billeting Money ; which must be tlie Case If we
do not put an End to It at this time : For the Colony, in Its impoverished State, cannot support a
charge which amounts to near as much per Annum, as all the other expenses of the Government
besides.
Hence it follows, that the Assembly have not been attentive to the Liberties of the Continent ;
nor to the Property of the good People of this Colony In particular. We must therefore attribute
thb Sacrifice of the public Interest to some corrupt Source. Thb Is very manifest in the Guilt and
Confession that covered the faces of the perfidious Abettors of this Measure, when the House was
in Debate on the Subject Mr. Colden Icnows, from the Nature of Things, that he cannot have the
least Prospect to be in Adrainiatration again ; and therefore, that he may make Hay while the Sun
shines, and get a full Salary from the Assembly, flatters the ignorant Members of it, with the Con-
sideration of the Success of a Bill, to emit a Paper Currency, when he and his artful Coadjutors
must know, that It is only a Snare to Impose on the Simple ; for It will obtain the Royal Assent.
But while he is solicitous to obtain his Salary, he must attend to his Posterity. And as some of his
children hold offices under the Government, if he did not procure an obedience to Its Requisitions,
or do his Duty, in ca-se the Assembly refused the Billeting Money, by dissolving them, hb Children
might be in danger of losing their offices. If he dissolved the Assembly, they would not give him
his Salary.
The Delancy Family knowing the Ascendency they have In the present House of Assembly, and
how useful that influence will be to manage a new Governor, have left no Stone unturned to pre-
vent a Dissolut'on. The Assembly, conscious to themselves, of having trampled on the Liberties of
the People, and fearing their Just resentments on such an event, are equally carefUl to preserve
1
836
APPENDIX,
their SmIs, expeotlog that if they can do It at this critical Jnnctare, as ft It imagined the grand
Controversj will be seUled this Winter, tbej will serre for Seren Tears ; hi whkh Time they hope
the People will forget the present Injorles done to them. To secure these sereral Ohiecta, the
Delancy Famllj, like tme Politicians, althon^ th^ were to all Appearance, at mortal Odds with
Mr. Golden, and represented him in all Companies, as an Inemy to his Country ; 7«t a CoaDtSon ii
tiow formed, In order to seeore to them the SoTtfdgn Lordship of this C<rfon7 : The effect of which,
has given Birth to the Abominable Tote, by which the liberties of the People are betrayed. In
short, they hare brought Matters to sach a Pass, that all the Checks resulting from the Form
of our happy Constitution, are destroyed. The Assembly ml^t as wdl inrlte the CooneH, to ssTe
the troableof Formalities, to take their Seats In the Hoose of Assembly, and place the Lientenaot
Goremor in the Speaker's Chair, and then there would be no Waste of Time in going fhym House
(o House, and Us Honour would have the Measure to see how xealous his former enemies are in
promoting his Interests to senre themsehres. Is this a State to be rested in when our aU Is at
Stake. No, my Countrymen, Rouse 1 Imitate the noble Kxample of the Friends of Liberty in Ing^
land, who rather than be enslaved, contend for their right with the K— g, Lords and Commons.
And will you suffo* your Liberties to be torn firom you by your own Bepresentatlves ? TeU it not
in Boston ; publish It not in the Streets of Charleston ! Tou have means yet left to preserve a
Unanimity with the brave Boetonians and Carolinians, and to prevent the Aocompliriiment of the
Designs of Tyrants. The House was so nearly divided on the Sufeject of granting Money In the Way
the Tote passed, that one would have prerented it; you have therefore a respectable Mlnoiity.
What I advise to be done, is, to assemble In the Fields on Monday next, where your Sense ought to
be taken on this important Point ; notwithstanding the impudence of Mr. Jaunc^, in declaring In
the House, that he had consulted his Constituents, and that they were for giving money. After this
if done, go In a Body to your Members, and insist on thdr Joining with the Minority to oppose the
BUI ; if they dare reftise your Just Reqnisition,~appoint a Committee, to draw up the State of the
whole Matter, and send it to the Speakers of the several Houses of Assembly on the Contlnoit, and
to the Friends of our Cause In England, and publish it in the News Papers, that the whole World
may know your Sentiments on this Matter In the only Way your Circumstances win admit And I
am confident It wUI spirit the Friends of our Cause, and diagrin our Enemies. Let the Notification
to call on the People, be so expressed, that whoever absents himself, will be considered as agreeing
to what shall be done by such as shall meet.— And that you may sueceed, is the unfeigned Desire ot
A Soa or Losiitt.
New Teas, Dso. 16, 1769.
Note 0.
Fbom recent discoveries, the BeMdere Club House appears to have been built by the Club after
the Revolution.
Note P.
For the following copy of the original contract between Henry Hudson and the Ancterdam
Chamber, together with an abstract of the instructions for the Toyage, transcribed fW>m an unpub-
lished history of the Company, published at iU request by P. Tan Dam, counsel for the Company
ftom 16M to 1T06, we are Indebted to the valuable brochure^ " Henry Hudson in Holland,"
recently published by the Hon. Henry C. Murphy, United States Minister at the Hague. The con-
tract exists entire, the instructions in abstract only, that portion of them only being given relating
to the proposed route of the expcdlUon, and ftrom these it would seem that the discovery of the
bland of Manhattan and the Hudson River, by the bold and persistent navigator, was tbo result
APPENDIX. 837
of direct disobedience to the commands of his more oaatlons employers. The contract made by
the Amsterdam Chamber alone and signed by two directors in its behalf, was concurred in by the
whole Company before the sailing of the expedition. In consequence of Hadson's ignorance of
the Dutch language, the Instrument was executed on his part with the aid of Jodocus Uondlus as
interpreter :
" OoHirad with Htnary Hudson.
" On this eighth of January, In the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and nine, the
** Directors of the East India Company of the Chamber of Amsterdam of the ten years reckoning
*' of the one part, and Mr. Henry Hudson, Englishman, assisted by Jodocus Hondlus, of the other
** part, have agreed in manner following, to wit : That the said Directors shall In the first place equip
** a small vessel or yacht of about thirty lasts* burden, with which, well prorided with men, pro-
** Tlslons and other necessaries, the above named Hudson stiaU about the first of April, sail, in order
** to search for a passage by the North, around by the North side of Nova Zembla, and shall continue
** thus along that parallel until he shall be able to sail Southward to the latitude of sixty degrees.
** He shall obtain as much Icnowledge of the lands as can be done without any considerable loss of
" time, and if It is possible return immediately In order to make a faithful report and relation of his
" voyage to the Directors, and to deliver over his Journals, log-books and charts, together with an
" account of whatsoever which shall happen to him during the voyage without keeping anything
'« back ; for which said voyage the Directors shall pay to the said Hudson, as well for his outfit for
" the said voyage, as for the support of his wife and children, the sum of eight hundred guilders ;t
** and, in case (wUch Qod prevent) he do not come back or arrive hereabouts within a year, the
" Directors shall further pay to his wife two hundred guilders in cash ; and thereupon they shall not
" be further liable to him or his hehrs, unless he shall either afterwards or within the year arrive and
** have found the passage good and suitable for the Company to use ; In which case the Dh-ectors
*' will reward the before named Hudson for his dangers, trouble and knowledge In their discretion,
** with which the before mentioned Hudson is content. And In case the Dh-ectors think proper to
'* prosecute and continue the same voyage, it Is stipulated and agreed with the before named Hud.
*'son, that he shall make his residence in this country with his wife and children, and shall enter into
" the employment of no other than the Company, and this at the discretion of the Directors, who
"also promise to make him satisfied and content for such farther service in all Justice and equity.
** AU without fraud or evil intent. In witness of the truth, two contracts are made hereof of the
^same tenor and are subscribed by both parties, and also by Jodocus Hondlus, as Interpreter and
** witness. Dated as above. (Hffned) Diac van Os, J. Poppb, Hknrt HiTnaov, {Lotesr down Hfftud)
"Jodocus Hondlus, witness." $
Ahttrad <^ InatrucUont.
** This Company, In the year l(i09, fitted out a yacht of about 80 lasts burden, and epgaged a Mr.
" Henry Hudson, an EngUshman, and a skillful pilot, as master thereof, with orders to search for the
" aforesaid passage by the North and Northeast above Nova Zembla, toward the lands or straits of
* " Anian, and then to sail at least to the sixtieth degree of North latitude, when If the time permitted
" he was to return from the straits of Anian again to this country. And he was ^r^Aer ordered by
" his Instruction^, to think of discovering no other routes or passages, except the route around by
" the North and Northeast above Nova Zembla ; vHih thU additional protUion^ that if it could
" not be accomplished at that time, another route would be the subject of consideration for another
"voyaga"
* Sixty tons. t Three hundred and twenty dollars.
X Jodocus (that is, Joost or Justus) Hondlus, who acted as the interpreter and friend of Hud«on,
on this occasion, was an eminent engraver of maps, who, like Planoius, was a Fleming by birth,
and had fied fh)m his country during the revolutionary troubles. He first went to London, and
estabtbhed himself there In business, but afterwards removed to Amsterdam, which for many
years both before that time and afterwards was a great centre of map-making ; and where he died
two years after the above document was signed. He was succeeded by his son Henry Hondlus,
who also became eminent In the map business.
The bapdsmal name of Hudson, both in the body of the Instrument and In the signature, in the
Dutch copy, is spelt in plain English, Hixar. The practice In America of giving it the Dutch ety-
mology Btndruc^ is therefore more honored In the breach than In the observance.
838
APPENDIX.
Note Q.
Th6 aocowU qf Hudwfi't voyage hy the Dutch historian^ Emanuel Van M^Urem,
The following account of Hudson** Toyage, by Van Meteren, as well as the prefatory rcmarki, are
txtracted from the brochure mentioned in Note P, and is inteiesting as one of the most reliable
narratives extant of the eTents of an expedition which paved the way for the civilisation of the
Northern United States :
** The first account which appeared in print of Hudson^s voyage for the East India Company, was
** in 1611, in a supplementary volume of Emanuel Tan Meteren*s history of the Netheilandii Tan
** Meteren was bom at Antwerp in 1535, but was taken at fifteen years of age to London by his
" father to be brought up in mercmitile pursuits. He was a relative of the celebrated geogra|dier,
** Ortelius, with whom he travellc-d over England and Ireland, and at whose suggestion he undertook
*' the task of writing a history of the Netherlands. lie continued to reside at London till his death
** on the 18th of April, 1618, only four months after the completion and publication of hb work. He
" was Consul of the Netherlands at London for the last thirty years of his life. His position, tbere-
** fore, gave him especial opportunities to write correctly upon a voyage which In some measure
** was connected both with England and the Netherlands. The first part of ha hbtory was pnb-
*' lished surreptitiously In Latin and German In 1595 In Germany, whither he had sent It for the
** purpose of having some engravings for It prepared. He first published it himself In Holland, In
" Dutch, In 1599. Another edition with a continuation appeared in 1608 ; and the third In 1611, In
*' 4to : which he declares on the title contains his last corrections, and which, as we have said, was.
** in fact, the last edition during his lifetime. It has, however, been often reprinted slnoe, and has
^ been translated Into French and German, and printed in those languages. It b considered a
*' standard authority, especially for his own time.
** His account of Hudson^s discovery of the great river appeared In lib last edition, and wlthjo
" two years after the event. He wrote It In England, and evidently with the Journal before him of
*' some person who had accompanied the expedition, for he mentions the particular d«ys of the
** arrival of the vessel at different points, corresponding exactly with those given by JuH In bis
*' Journal, which was not then yet published. It is not probable tliat it was one kept by any of the
*' sailors, for some of the information which the author gives would not have been within the know-
** ledge of the crew. Nor was it Hudson's, whi<;h. It may be reasonably inferred, was sent by bim
"directly to his employers at the time when he was prohibited by the English government from
*' returning to Holland to make a report of his voyage, inasmuch as we find it afterward in
*' De Laet's possession ; and espuciully us he had stipulated in the contract to deliver it up to them.
" The Journal, therefore, which Van Mete, en used was probably that of the mate, who, as he alone
*' Informs us, was a Netherlander, and who, by renson of the official position of the historian in
** London, would be Uirown in communication with him. Thb supposition b, however, more
** strongly founded upon the circumstance that the Informant of Van Meteren was acquainted with
'* the private views of Hudson, at various thnes during the voyage, and afterward— a knowledge
** not likely to have been possessed by any person except an officer of the vessel ; and upon the
*' fact that we are fumbhed in thb account with the opinion of the inaU in favor of wintering in
** Newfoundland, Instead of p oceedlng home, and with the particular manner in which Ihtjf pro-
" posed to continue the voyage.
" Of the relation given by Van Meteren, It will be observed that It b very particular upon those
" points upon which both the Journal of Juet and the account of De Laet are entirely sQent.
** namely, the plans and purposes of Hudson during the voyage. It b well known to our historians
" and b quoted by them. The original Dutch edition of 1611 of hb hbtory. In which the account
" first appeared, is entitled : *Belgbche ofte Nede. lantsche Oorlogen ende Geschledenbsen begin-
** nende van H Jaer 1595 tot 1611, mede vervatende enighe gebueren handelinghe. Beschreven door
*' Emanuel Van lifeteren. BiJ hem voor de ieste reyse oversle verbetert ende vermeerdert na die
*' cop!e gedruckt op Schotlant buyten Danswyck by Hermes van Loven. Toor den Antbeor Anno
*^ 1611.* 4to., black letter, folios 860, and table of contents. It recommences with the el^teenth
*' book of the hbtory, at the year 1695, where the first volume ended, and concludes whh the
*' thirtieth In the year 1610. It does not appear on the title where It was printed ; but It b there
" stated to have been printed according to the copy printed at Scotland, outside Dantiick— a %om
** de guerre. The place of publication was Intentionally concealed. Tan Meteren had given
** oflTence by hb previous volume to some dbtlngubhed persons, and he himsdf In coneeqaence had
** actnally been brought before the SUtee General, upon their complaint of hb h^ustloe toward
** th«m ; and at the same time, the copies remaining in the printer's hands were ordered to be
APPENDIX. 839
" Mlsed. The second volume was, as a contemporaneous history, not likely to be more acceptable
** to some parties then still living than the former. He wrote, in fact, under a strong Protestant
•» bias. This edition is said to have been printed at Dordrecht. {Mr. 8. de Wind't » BtbUothetk
•' dsr yedtrlandache GMe&Udaehri^4r8,' p. 258.)
^ The relation of Hudiion's voyage given by this writer has been reprinted In Dutch and trans-
*' lated into the French and English languages. It forms that part of the publications of Joost
*" Uartgers, in 1650, and of Saegfaman, in 1M8, which describes the voyage of 1009. From this
** reprint It appears to have been translated into French, and published in the first volume of the
** 'RecuMl des Voyagf qui oiU ssrvi d ritabUMmMfU et aw» progria ds la OompafftUe dM
*'JndM OritfUaUa^ etc.; ISmo., Amsterdam, 1702- lU publication in English was made hi 'A
•> oolUeHon of Voyagta^ undertaken for <&s improvemen$ of trade and navigation, etc,'' 8vo.
" London, 1708. This last-mentioned volume is not only uncommon, but the translation appears
** to have been rendered firom the French copy, and is not altogether correct. As one of the proofb
"in our investigation, we append a new one firom the original and only Dutch edition of the
** author. The account occurs in the thirUeth book, folio 827, of the ediUon of 1611, and is as
" follows :
** * We have said in the preceding book that the Directors of the East India Company in Holland
*' had sent, hi the month of March last past, in order to seek a passage to China by the Northwest
"or Northeast, a brave English pilot named Henry Hudson, with a Vile-boat, and about eighteen
♦' or twenty men, part English and part Dutch, well provided.* This Henry Hudson sailed fl-om
" Tezel on the 6th of April, 1609, and doubled the Cape of Norway on the 5th of May ; he laid his
" course toward Nova Zembla, along the northern coast, but found the sea as full of Ice there, as he
** had found it the preceding year, so that he was compelled to abandon all hope for that year;
»* whereupon, owing to the cold which some who had been in the East Indies could not support,
" the English and Dutch fell into disputes among themselves. Whereupon the Master, Hudson,
" gave them their choice between two things, the first was, to go to the coast of America in the
" fortieth degree of latitude, mostly incited to this by letters and maps which a certain Captain
** Smith had sent him ft-om Virginia, and on which he showed him a sea wherein he might drcum-
" navigate their Southern Colony from the North, and from thence pass into a Western sea. If
" this had been true (which experience up to the present time has shown to the contrary). It would
*' have been very advantageous, and a short route to. saU to the Indies. The other proposition was,
" to search for the passage by Davis' Straits, to which at last they generally agreed ; and on the
" fourteenth they set sail, and, with favorable winds, arrived the last of May at the isle of Faro,
" where they stopped only twenty-four hours to take in f^-esh water. Leaving there, they reached,
*' on the eighteenth of July, the coast of New-France in latitude forty-four, where they were
" obliged to make a stay to replace their foremaet which they had lost, and where they obtained
" and rigged one. They found this a good place for catching codfish, and also for carrying on a
" traflSc for good skins and ftirs, which they could obtain for mere trifles ; but the sailors behaved
" very badly toward the people of the country, taking things by force, which was the cause of a
" strife between them. The Englieh, thinking they would be overpowered and worsted, were
" aft^d to enter ftirther into the country ; so they sailed from there on the twenty-sixth of
" July, and continued at sea until the third of August, when they approached the land In
" latitude forty-two. From thence they sailed again until the twelfth of August, when thfy
*' again approached the land at latitude thirty-seven and three-quarters, and kept theh: course
** thence along it until they reached the latitude of forty degrees and three-quarters, where th«y
" found a good entrance between two headlands. Here they entered on the twelfth of September,
" and discovered as beautiful a river as could be found, very large and deep, with good anchorage
*' on both shores. They ascended it with their large vessel as high as latitude forty-two degrees
** and forty minutes, and went still hi^er up with the ship's boat At the entrance of the river
" they had found the natives brave and wariike ; but Inside, and up to the highest point of the
" river, they fonnd them friendly and dvH, having an abundance of sldns and fiirs, such as martens
" and foxes, and many other commodities, birds, firults and even white and blue grapes. They
" treated these people very civilly, and brought away a Uttle of whatever they found among
" them. After they had gone about fifty leagues np the river, they returned on the fourth of
** October, and again put to sea. More could have been aocompli^ed there* if there had been
" a good feeling among the sailors, and had not the want of provisions prevented them.
" * At sea there was a consultation held at which Uiere was a diversity of opinion. The mate,
** who wae a J>Hiehman, thought that they ought to go and winter in Newfoundland, and seek for
"the Northwest passage through Davis* Straits. The master, Hudson, was opposed to this; he
* There Is nothing to be found on the subject in the preceding book or elsewhere in the histoty.
840
APPENDIX.
**/Bared hU orew vouid mWiny, becaoM at tbnat thej bad boldly menaced bfan, aod abo
** because they would be entirely orercome by the cold of winter, and be, after all, obliged to
** return with many of the crew weak and eickly. No one, howerer, ipoke of returning home to
** Holland, which ffav4 eause (^fwrth^ mupMon to Ihe matter, Ooneeqnently, he propoeed
** that they shoold go and winter In Ireland, to whlcfa tbej aU agreed, and at length arrired,
" November 7th, at Dartmouth in England. Vrom thie place they sent an account of their Toyage
^ to their matters in Holland, proposing to go in eearoh of a paasage to the Northwest If they were
** furnished with fifteen hundred gnilden in money to buy prorlsloni, in addition to their wages
** and what they had in the sh^. He wished to hare tome six or teren of his crew changed, making
** the number up to twenty men, etc., and to tall firom Dartmouth about the first of March, in
** order to be at the Northwest by the end of that month, and there pass the month of April and
" half of May In killing whales and other animals In the neighborhood of the Isle of Panar ; from
** there to go toward the Northwest and remain there till the middle of September, and afterward
** to return, by the northeast of Scotland, again to Holland. Thus was the Toyage finished ; but
** before the Directors could be informed of their avrlTal InEngland, a long time elapsed by reason
** of contraiy winds, when at last they Mnt orders for the ship ajod crew to return at once to
** Holland. And when this was about to be done, the master, Henry Hudson, was ordered by the
** authorities there, not to depart, but remain and do serrice for his own country, which was also
** required of the other Englishmen In the ship. Many, howerer, thoni^t It rery strange that tke
** Master; who had been sent out for the common benefit of all kinds of navigation, should not be
* permitted to return in order to render an account and make a report of their doings and aSUrs
* to their employers. This took place in January, 1610. It was supposed that the En^^ish wished
* to send the same persons with some Tcssels to Virginia to explore ftirther the before-mentioned
•rirer.'"
INDEX,
AcAdemj of Music, erection of, 721
Academy, Free— S«e OotUffU.
Adriaen^n M aryn, one of the GooncU of TwdTe
. At Oorlaer't HooIlUS.
, James, aniral of; 298; counsel for
im, 804, 881 ; in the Zenger trial, 888:
' K>m the list of attorneys, 884 ; restored
Or, 846 ; trustee of the Society Library,
Men,l)
Aiexandc
Van D<
itrnek
to the
84.
Allerton, Is4ac, one of the Council of BI^tMen,
lis.
AIsop, Jolm, delegate to the Continental Con-
gress, 471.
Ambuscade, the, arrival of; 608; engagement
of the Bbston with, 607.
Amerlcai^ Museum—See Museums,
Andr6, Ma^lor, at New York, 061 ; arrest and ex-
ecution of, 562.
Anthonyl Allard, one of the first schepens, 186 ;
sheriff/l57.
Apthortfe House, narrow escape of Washington
fromf 504, 621.
Argall, supposed Tislt to Manhattan of, 41 ; grant
of the province by James n. to. 47.
Arnold, treason of, 501, 562 ; at New York, 542,
548; death 0^568.
Articles of Confederation, 686, 687.
Astor, John Jacob, Astor Library founded by,
7d6w
Astor Place Opera House, erection of; 726.
Astor Place Opera House riot. 749 752.
Atlantic Telegraph Cable celebration, 764, 766.
Backems, Domine Johannes, minister at New
Amsterdam, 120 ; return to Holland of; 184.
Btiley, Gen. Theodorus, postmaster of New York
city in the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury, 651.
Bancker, Flores, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412.
Barectsen, expedition of, 80.
BaUlesot
the Liberty Pole, 429-486.
Golden HiU, 448-458.
Long Island, 495-496
Harlem Plains, 505, 506
Fort Washington. 007, 509.
Bauman, Sebastian, first postmaster of New York
city after the Revolution, 605-
Baxter, George, first English secretary of the
provbice, 101.
Bayard, Nicholas, secretary of the province, 168;
mayor, 211 ; member of the council in 1699,
220; in the affair of Leisler. 220-284: In the
adiuinlstration of Naufan, 267; genealogy of,
appendix, note Q— See Majors.
Bayard, WUUam, New York delegate to Colonial
Cbngress, 412.
Bayards Mount— See HUls,
Beekman, Wllhehn, one of the first fechepens,
186; geiiMlogy oi; appendix, note JK
Beekman, Ctorardus. administers alfairs after the
removal of Ingol^toby, 286; member of the
eoundl of Hunter, 288.
Beekman'S Swamp, leased to Bip Tan Bam, 282.
Beekman Honse,head-qaarter8 of Howe, 602, 620,
621.
Belcher, Thomas, earliest patentee of lands at
Brooklyn, 85.
Bell, Isaac, sen., reminiscences o^ 666, 666.
Belvidore, the, in the beginning of the nineteentb
century. 621.
Bentyn, Jaques, one of the CooncU of Twelve
Men, 107.
Berrien, John, wounded at the Liberty Pole, 482.
Block, Adriaen, arrives at Manhatan, 89 ; builds
the Hestless, 40 ; explorations and return of,
40.
Blommaert, SamueL first patroon of Swaanen-
dael,57.
Bogardus, DomlntKvtrardus, arrlral al Manhat-
tan of, 68 , controversy with Tan TwUler. 66,
67; with Tan Dincklagen, 77, 78; marriage
with Aneke Jans of; 76 ; opposes the massacre
of the Indians, 111 ; return to Holland, ship-
wreck and death of, 182.
Bout, Jan Evertsen, one of the Council of Bdit
Men, 118; of Nine Men, 188.
Bowling Green, annual fair held on, 96, 900;
treaty with the Indians concluded on, 122;
leased bythe corporation, 822.
Bradford, William, first printer in the dty, 260,
811.
Breasar, Henry, 92.
Bridewell, the-See Public BuOdings,
Brockholst, Anthony, aOkirs administered by
during the absence of Andres, 205.
Broome, Samuel, one of the Sons of Liberty, 44S.
Bragges, John, Alderman, 157.
Banker Mansion House, the, resldenoe of Wash-
incton during the seoond session of Congress,
Burr, Aaron, in the retreat of Silllman^to Brigade,
004; in the affklr of the Jay treaty, 610 ; duel
with Hamilton, 669, 670.
Burgher right granted to the dtisens, 145, 146.
Bushwick founded, 150.
Cabot Sebastian, explorations of, 29.
Cadwallader, CoL, at Fort Washington. 507-609.
Carleton, Sir Guy, in command at New York,
566.
841
842
INDEX.
Cwtle Garden. Stt ForU.
Central Pa.k. See J'arta.
Champa, John, attempt to carry off Arnold from
the city made by, Mi, 568.
Chat-Ura. granted to the
New NeUierland Company by the States Gene
ral in 1614, 42.
Kxpiration of, in 1618, 46.
Gorged and hia auociatea by James L, 47.
VSest India Company in 16J{1, by the ~
General, 49.
Patroonahips, of, tn 1639, 05, 66.
Privileges of, 82, S8.
Breuclcelen, 185.
New Amst««dam, 186.
Nicolla, 187.
New Orange, 168.,
New York, 171.
Liberties of, 207, 208.
Dongan, 218, APPkMotx, Notb A and B.
Montgomerie 8 1 1 , 815. AprBNDix,NoTK A mod B.
Amended, of l<>8i). 7a2.
Amended, of 1M9, 749.
Amended, of 1 *^, 750.
Amended, of 1(^57, 766.
Chelsea Uouse, the, 619
Cholera of 1882, 788 ; of 1849. 784 ; of 1855, 785.
Christiaensen Uendric, ariival at Manhattan of,
89 ; Fort Nassaa built by, 41 ; Death of; 42.
Chureh€s—
Reformed Duteh.~flnt organisation of,58 ; first
minister of, f'8, 54, Appkmoix Nora C ; primi-
tive manners and customs of, 682-685 ; first
church in Manhattan, 65; Church of St.
Nicholas, 97, 99, 858 ; South Putch in Garden
street, 241, 242, 257, 742: Middle Dutch in
Nassau street, 815, 816, 518, 687 ; North Dutch
in William street, 687, 689; churches in the
beginning of the nineteenth century, 688-648-
Lutheran— orgauixatlon of, in Stuyresant's ad-
ministration, 142; first minister of, 159;
church in Broadway built by the Palatines,
159, 287 ; churches In the beginning of the
nineteenth century, 644.
Episcopal- EdUblished by Fletcher In 1696,251;
first clergyman of, 251 ; Trinity church erect-
ed, 251, 257 ; King's Farm granted by Queen
Anne to, 275; estate of Aneke Jans ptu>
chased by, 76, 275; cemetery donated to,
275, 848, 645 ; Eglise du Saint Esprit, buUt by
the HuguenoU, 281, 2^, 808, 809, 869, 518.
514 ; St. George*s Chapel in Beekman street,
874 ; churches in the beginning of the nin»>
teenth century, 648, 644.
Presbyterian.— Wall street church erected, 801,
rebuilt, 878; In the Revolution, 518 ; Brick
Church in Beekman street erected, 468 ; in
the Revolution, 513, 519, 649 ; churches in
the beginning of the nineteenth century,
W8-650.
Baptiitt.— Gold street church, 650 ; Ollrer street
church, 651.
Blethodlst— organization of, John street chapel
erected, 899 ; In the beginning of the nine-
teenth century. 652-658.
Friends — In the beginning of the nineteenth
century, 654.
Jews* Synagogue In Mill street, 816. 658.
Moravian— Chapel In Fulton street, 874, 651
Catholic— In the beginning of the nineteenth
century, 655.
Clarke, Andrew, first English tchoolmaster in
New York, 274.
OUnton, Admiral George— See 0o9€mor8.
Clinton. Sir Uenry, In the battle of Long Island,
495-493; commander-in-chief at New York,
053; fortifies the city, 554; southern expe-
dition of, 600 : sails to the reHef of ComwaUis,
666 ; superseded by Sir Guy Carleton, 566.
CHnton, George, defence of McDongall by, 461 ;
defence of bean by, 468 : first governor of tht
SUte, 544, 614.
Clinton, De Witt— See Mayors,
Colden, Cadwallader— See Gowm&rt,
Collect. Koick, Fresh Water Pond, the prlmitlTf
condition of, 80, 822, 828; proposed improTe'
ment of, 619, 6d0 ; filled up, 680.
OflUffSS—
King*s, founded, 878, 897, 896; tn the Rerohi-
Uon, 472, 478 ; transformed into Colombia,
V e27, 628, 784, 786. ^
University of the dty of New York, 784.
Free Academy, 786.
Union Theological Seminary, 786.
General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal
Church, 785. -»- r-
St Francis XsTler, 786.
College of Physicians and Surgeou, 627, 786.
University Medical School, 785u
New York Medical CoUege, 785.
Colman, John, death and burial of; 88.
Committee of
Safety, 1689, 232, 228.
Correspondence, appointed by the Sons of
Liberty, 417, 424, 426.
Fifty One, 474.
One Hundred, 481-488.
Safety, appointed by the Provincial Congrets,
510, 511. ^^
Commons, the primitive condition of; 833 ; Alnv-
house erected on, 847 ; in the Revolution, 439-
492 ; new Alms-house built on, 580 ; In the
beginning of the nineteenth century, 624.
Flist Colonial, at New York, 413, 418.
Second Colonial, at Philadelphia, 478, 479.
Piovinclal, at New York, 479, 486.
Constitution —
Firtst, of the State of New York, ft-amed at
Kingston, 544.
Federal opposition to. In the city of New York,
590; federal procession in the city, 689:
adoption of, 591.
OompaniUit—
United New Netherland, organisation of; 43;
treaty with the Indians, 45 ; dissolution of,
46; West India, organisation of 49; coloni-
sation of the province by, 50-56 ; Burgher
gove.-nment established at New Amsterdam
b V, 186 ; further municipal privileges granted,
189, 149 : Staten Island purchased by, 149.
Ooney Island, discovery of, ^
Cooper, M^ies, president of King's College, 897,
Cooper, Peter, Cooper Institute founded by, 78&
Corlaer, Jacob, 74.
CorUer^s Hook, maasaore at. Ill, 112; in 1781, 824,
Comellssen, expedition of, 80.
Crummashie Hill— See UilU,
Crystal Palace, 751-758.
Cunningham, William, at the Liberty Pole. 467;
Provost Marshal of the ReTolution, 626^5«); at
the evacuation of the dty, 570.
Damen. Jan Jensen, one of the Oonndl of Twelrt
Men, 111 ; one of the Council of Ei^t Men ;
expelled by his coileaguce, 118; one of the
Council of Nine Men, 18i8.
De Lancey, Stephen, first public clodc of the d^
presented by, 800 ; dispute with Burnet o^ 801^
809 ; genealogy of, Appkkoix, Notb M.
De Lancey, James— See Govsmors.
De Lancey, Ollrer, house of, burnt at Blooming*
dale, 542, 648.
De Tries, David Pletersen, Patroon of Swaanen*
dael, 67, 67-70 ; founds YriesendaeL 84 : In the
Indian war, 107-120.
INDEX.
843
I>«nn«r, Thomat, yVhu Manhattan and otoima it
at hla dkeorery, 46, 47.
Dirckaen, Barent, on« of th« GooncU of IS^^t
Men, US.
Direkaen, Cornelia, flxal fmryauatar of New
Amsterdam, 91, 9S.
IHredof—
Me7, Corneliaaen Jaoobaen, In 1688, hj Weat
India Comp«nj, 50, 51; retoma to Hol-
land, 51.
Terfaolst, William, in 1684, 51 ; rtcaXl of, 51.
lliDuit, Peter, in 16S6, appointed Director-
General, 51, 58 : arrival o^ 62 ; porchase of
the island of Manhattan by, 5^: oorrea-
pondenee with Gorernor Bradford, of; 58,
54; recall of, and return to Europe, 60;
arrest by the finglish authorities and subse-
quent release, 61, 68 ; rielt to Sweden of, 80,
81; returns to America and founds Fort
Christina, 81, 88 ; death and burial of; 87.
Van TwiUer, Wonter, arriral of, in 1688, 68 ;
character of, 68; pnblio improTements of,
65 ; dispuU with Bogardus of, 66, 67 ; affair
of the ^ WiUiam," 67-71 ; De Vrlea and, 70 ;
protest against the Kngltsh on the Connecti-
cut Rirer, 78 ; expuldon of the £n^leh fh>m
Fort Nassau by, 78, 78; expedition dis-
patched against Wetbersfield and Saybrook
hy, 78; purchase of New Amenfoordt and
Ooremor's Island by, 75-77 ; discontent of
the people ; recall o^ 77.
Kieft, Wilhelm, arriral of, 79; antecedents
and character of, 79; laws and ordinances
established by, 79, 80 ; excise laws instituted
by, 80; protest against the Swedes at Foit
Christina, of, 81, 88 ; purchase of King's and
Queen's Counties for the Company by, 84. 85 ;
expedition dispatched against the KugLsn on
Long Island by, 85, 86; expulsion of (he
Englbh from tbe Delaware by, 88 ; public
improvements of, 96-99 ; regulations respect-
ing seawant bsued by, 101; tribute on the
Indians levied by, 108; expedition against
the Karttans dispatched by, 1U5; publio
Assembly summoned by, lOd; massacre of
Indians at Pavonla and Corlaer*s Hook
sanctioned by, 111 ; war against the natives
carried on by, 111-117: treaty of peace,
117; recommencement of hostilities and con-
tinuance of th« war, 118-188 ; treaty with the
Indians concluded on the Bowling Oreen by,
128; new excise levied by, 188; recall of,
125 ; despotism of; 186, 187 ; dLtpute between
Bogardus and, 1x7, 18S ; return to Europe,
jhipwreck and death of; 138.
Rtuyvesant, Petrus. appointed by tbe Com-
pany, 185; his history and character, 187-
129 ; public improvements of; 189, 130 ; new
excise levied by, 180 ; banishment of Kuyter
and Melyn by, 181, 188; Assembly of Nine
Men summoned by, 188, 188; boundaries
between New York aqd New England settled
by, 185 ; contest between the people and,
189 ; Landttag held at New Amsterdam by
order of, 141 ; Intolerance toward the Lu-
therans of, 148 : Swedes expelled from Fort
Christina by, 148; second Indian war during
the administration of, 148-145; the system
of " burgher rigbts " instituted by, 145, 146 ;
persecution of the Quakers by, 140 ; invasion
of the city by the English ; resistance of the
governor ; surrender of New Amsterdam,
151-154 ; future career of; death and burial ;
tomb of, 154; Stuyvesant pear tree, 158,
155; genealogy of the Stuyvesant family,
ArpKNmx, NoTB E.
0i>'p4nsaris« —
New York, 686, 788.
Northern, 738.
2>i«psfi«ar<«a— ooBtlnnad.
Eastorn.788w
DemUt^JSa, 781
North Western, 784.
New York Infirmary, TSi.
Doctors* Mob, 588-586.
Doughty, Thomas, founder of Mespath, 119, 19&
Driasins, Domine, assistant to Megapolensia, 186w
Duer, William. M7-550.
Dudley, Joseph, member of Council in 1689, 840,
847.
East India Company, Dutch, Incorporation of,
80 ; contract with Hudson, of, 81.
Eddy, Thomas, 710, 716.
Eelkins, Jacob, agent at Fort Nassau, 4A ; super*
cargo of an English trading vessel; contest
With Van TwUler, 67-7a
Fergnson, John, mayor, 708.
Ferries, first lease of; ISO ; ferry to Harlem pro-
posed by StuyTesant, 148; mortgage of ferry
lease by the corporation, 858 ; lease of 1699:
ferry rates and regulations, 868, 868 ; lease of
1717, 884, 885 ; new ferry established to Brook-
lyn, 801 ; first ferry to SUten Island, 884 ; ferry
establifthed to Pauius Hook, 898; ferries in tha
beginning of the nhaeteenth century, 659;
history of the Long Island ferries, 688, 667 ;
ferries of 1859, 775.
field, Cyrus W., Atlantic telegraph cable laid by,
754
Fire of 1776, 540, 541 ; of 1773, 658 ; of 1885, 741,
748; of 1845, 743.
Flatbush founded, 187.
Flushing first settled, 186.
ForU-
First redoubt built on the Island of Manhattan,
89.
Nassau, 41, 78, 7&
Amsterdam, 58,65; captured and christened
Fort James, 154; recaptured by the Dutch
and caUed Fort Wilhelm Hendrick, 166; sur-
rendered to the English and transformed
again into Fort James, 170.
Good Hope, 71.
Christina, 81.
Casimir, 148.
Fortifications of the city in 1776, 498.
FortificaUons of 1818-1 SI 4, 701, 708.
Fortifications of 1859, n2-775.
Fraunoes* Tavern, the head-quarters of Washing-
ton, 578, 681, 688.
Freneau*s Poem on the Prison-ship, 586-588.
Fuiion, Robert, building of the Clermont by, 681,
688 ; in the Erie Canal, 717.
Gage, General, commandant at New York, 485.
Ga* Cbmpanlst—
New York, 788.
Manhattan, 724.
George IIL, statue of, on the Bowling Green,
481, 488. «
Genet, Citiien, arrival of; 607; marriage at the
Walton House, 608; policy and subsequent
recall of, 608.
Govemort—
NIcolls, CoL Richard, appointed by the Duka
of York, in 1664, 150 ; arrival and invasion
of New Amsterdam by, 151-158 ; conquest
of the fort 154; proclaimed gOTemor, 166 ;
form of municipal government changed by,
157; taxes levied by, 158; tolerance to-
ward the Lutlierans, 158, 159 ; city forUfied
by, ICO; recall of, 161 ; death of, 168.
Lovelace, Col. KraDcis, In 1663 ; arriral of;
844
INDEX.
Go9&mor§—cont\nnt6.
161 ; despotfo eondaet of, 161, 109 ; pnbKo
meeting for merchants initltiited ; raoea ap-
prored; flrii mail between Mew York and
Boeton eetablished by, 16S; fort intm>t«d
toCapt. JohnMaoninf by, IM; Inraaion of
the dty by the Datch fleet; cowardice of
Manning ; capture of the town, 164-166;
retom to Europe ot^ 166 ; pnblie reprimand
and oonflacation of eatatet of, 168.
Colve, Capt. Anthony, arriral of, 168 : inrap
•ion and capture of the dtT by, 164, 16S ;
aeeumes command of the province. 166 : city
fortified by. 168 ; martial rule of, 169 ; con-
tempt of witchcraft oL 169, 170 : eorrender
of the fort by, 170.
Androe, Sir Kdmnnd, takes command of the
dty, 170 ; English form of municipal gor-
emment restored by, 171 ; character and po-
licy ot 195; regulations and ordinances esta-
blished by, 197-200 ; bolting monopoly grant-
ed to the city by, 901, 909 ; admiraUy ooart
esUblished, 902 ; slare Uws of; 204, 905 ; re-
turn to England of; 205 ; return to New York
and subsequent recall, 906 : appointed royal
Svemor of New England and New York,
7 ; sent a prisoner to En^and by his sod-
Jects of Boston, 219.
Dongan, CoL Thomas, arriral of, 207; first
EtigUsh assembly summoned by, 907 ; muni-
cipal regulaUons of, 209, 210, 912, 218:
monopoly for packing flour and baking bread
for exportation granted to the city by, 210;
charter granted by, in 16S6, 218. Appkhdiz,
NoTK A ; Canadian policy of, 211, 116 ; home
affisirs, 217 ; recall of; 217.
Nicholson, Sir Francis, assumes command as
lieutenant-governor, 217; superseded by
Lelsler, 228 ; flight to England, 224 ; intrigues
%t the English court, 281, 282.
Leisler, Jacob, antecedents of, 221, 229 ; chosen
leader of the people, 222 ; appointed com-
mander-in-chief by the Committee of Safety,
224 ; fortifles the city; dispatches a memorial
to William and Mary, 224, 226; dispatches
Milbome to Albany^227: assumes title of
lleutenant-gOTemor, 228 : is acknowleged by
the Albanians; dispatcoes an expedition
against Canada, 281 ; superseded by Slough-
ter,282; blockaded by Ingoldsby, 288. 284;
letter to Sloughter and subsequent surrender
of the fori, ^ 285; arrest and imprison-
ment of 920 ; trial and condemnation, 285,
286; execution of 286, 287; disinterred and
reburied in the South Dutch Church in Gar-
den street, 271.
Slouehter, Col. Henry, appointed gove'nor,
282; arriral of, 288; Letsler and adherents
arrested by, 285; death warrant of Le!sler
and Bfllbome signed by, 287 ; municipal ordi-
nances during the administration of, 241, 242;
death of, 245.
Fletcher, Beqjamln, in 1692, arriral of, 246 ;
character and policy of, 947 ; Episcopal
church established In the prorlnce by, 951 ;
Indian policy, 252 ; suspe6led connirance of
piratical depredations. 958 ; recall of, 254 ;
progress of the city during the administra-
tion of, 957-260.
Bellamont Lord^ in 1695, appointment of, 254 ;
stock company for the suppression of piracy
organised ; the Adrenture galley fltted out
by, 254 ; fkiiure of the enterprise ; popular
discontent, 255-258 ; arriral of, 260; policy
of, 961 ; risit to Boston, 268 ; dispute with
the merchants, 264; death of, 264.
Nanfan, John, lieutenant-gorernor, arriral of;
200; assumes dh'ection of affkfrs, 265; at-
taches himself to the Letsierlan party, 265 ;
<?o««m0rs— continued.
imprisons Bayard and Hutcfalns, 267, 168;
superseded by Corabnxy, 268.
Combury, Lord, arriral of; 269 ; infractions
of Queen Anne to, 269, 270 ; Joins the anti-
Leislerian party, 272 ; dty schools during
the administration ol 278 ; at Jamaica, 274,
975; eflbrts to establish episcopacy of, 275,
976; peculation of; 276; forUfles the cty.
977,978; despotbm ot 278. 279; recall acd
subseqaent arrest and Imprisonment of, 279 ;
progreM of the dty during the admin stra-
Uon of, 279-285.
LorelaccL Lord, arriral of, 9% ; assembly con-
Tened by, 295 ; sodden death of, 266.
Ingoldsby, Major Richard, arriral of; 282; con-
test with Leisler, 238, 284 ; assumes direction
of afltelrs upon the death of Lorelace, 286 ;
remoral of, 986.
Hunter, Robert, arriral of. In 1710, 986; his-
tory of; 986, 287 ; Joins the anti-Leislerian
party, 288; council of; 238; expedition
against Canada dispatched by, 289; fidlore
of the expedition, 200; contest with the as-
sembly, 291 ; court of chancery established
by, 292 ; popular concessions of, 298 ; de-
parture for England and subsequent career,
298, 294 ; progress of the dty during the ad-
ministration of, 294-802
Burnet, William, arriral of, in 1720, 802 ; cha-
racter and antecedents of, 808; marriage
of ; friendship with Morris. 808 ; council of,
805 : Indian affkin during the administration
of, 805 ; poIi<7 of ; abolluon of the drcuitons
traffic by, 806; contest with the merchants,
807, 808 ; trading poet at Oswego erected by,
807 ; congress of goremors at Albany, 808 ;
dispute with Stephen De Lanccy, of, 808, 809;
contest with the assembly, 809, 810 ; trans-
ferred to Massachusetts, 810; progress of
the dty during the adminktration of, 810-812.
Montgomerie, John, appointment of. 810 ; ar^
riral and instructions of, 812 ; policy of the
new goremor, 812; Montgomerie charter
granted by, 812-815 ; progress of the dty dur-
ing the administration of, 828 ; death of; 828.
Cosby, CoL William, arriral of; 823 ; character
aixd antecedents of; 815-829 ; council of, 880 ;
contest with Rip Van Dam, 880, 881; remo-
ral of Morris fh>m the chief Justiceship by,
881 ; conduct in the Zenger trial. 888-^M8 ;
names of &nith and Alexander struck A-om
the roll of attorneys by, 884 ; contest with
the assembly, 845; rapadty of; Rip Tan
Dam suspended by. 845 : death of, 845 ; pro-
Sess of afDdrs during the adminbtration of;
7-aaw
Clarke, George, assumes the direction of aflkin,
845 ; contest with Rip Van Dam, 845, 846 ;
commissioned as lieutenant-gor^iior, 846;
dbsolres the assembly and restores Smith
and Alexander to. the bar, ^16 ; negro plot
during the administration of, 805-869 ; super-
seded by Clinton, 869.
Clinton, Admiral George, arriral oi; 870 ; alli-
ance with De Lanoey ; subsequent rapture,
and alliance with Colden, 870; dlss^tslon
with the assembly, 870, 875,876; aflUr of
the ** Qteyhoond,*' 875, 876 ; resignaUoa o^
876.
Osborae, Shr Danrers, arriral of, 876 ; instrao-
tlons of, 876, 879 ; popular demonstrations,
847; forebodings of the council, 879; sui-
cide of the goremor, 847 ; previous history,
880.
De Lancey, James, prerious career, 880, 885,
870, 878 ; assumes direction of aflVifans as Ueu-
tenant-gorernor on the death of Sir Danrers
Osborne, 880 ; policy of, 881, 882 ; at Albany,
INDEX.
845
(7o««rfU>r«— continaed.
88S ; Society Library founded under the aos*
pioei of, 864 ; progress of the city daring (he
adminlftration of, 8S4-886 ; superseded by 8ir
Oharles Hardy. 886; chief justice, 887; at
the head of affairs, 838 : French war during
the administration of, 889, 892 ; death of,
^ 882; genealogy of, Appmidix, Nora M.
Hardy, Sir Charles, arriral of; incapacity for
office, ^6 ; resignation and departure firom
the proTlnce. 887.
Oadirailader Colden, assumes command as
lieutenant-governor, 898; prerious career
of, 804, 806, 880, 870, 871,876; attempt at
impressment during tlie administration of,
888, 894, death of George IL, and prodama-
mation of George III., 894 ; theatre opened
in Beelcman street under the auspices of,
895; superseded by Monckton,886; again in
command, 897, 400 ; state of afiiii>a in the
colonies in 1708, 401-408; passage of the
Stamp Act , 409 ; daring memorial of the
Assembly to the Ministry, 408; recep-
tion of the Stamp Act hi the city, 400, 410 ;
non-importation agreement of the New York
merchants, 414, 4U) ; arriral of the stamps ;
Colden undertakes the office of distributor ;
Is burnt in effigy on the Bowlhig Green, 418,
419 ; delivers the stamps to the mayor, 422,
428; superseded by Moore, 425; again in
command, 442 ; emission of bills of credit by
the assembly, 448 ; tax on tea, 446 ; non-lm-
portatlon agreement rescinded, 460 ; Colden
superseded In the government by Lord Dun-
more, 460 ; Assumes the government in the
absence of l^yon, 467 : arrival of the tea
ships; tea party in New York Harbor, 469-478 ;
second Colonial Oongrees ; the American As-
sociation, 478.
Monckton, Gen. Robert, appointment, popu-
larity of; 896; reception by the Assembly,
896 ; departure for Martinique and return of,
897 ; municipal ordinance, 897, 89>$ ; returns
to England, 400. ...
Moore, Sir Henry, conciliatory disposition of;
recepUon by the Sons of Uberty, 426, 427 ;
repeal of the SUmp Act, 429 ; Limited Sup-
ply Bill passed by the Assembly. 487 ; con-
test with the Assembly ; disfranchisement of
the province, 488, 489 ; Assembly dissolved
by, 441 ; new Assembly convened, 441 ; death
of 442.
Dunmore, Lord, arrival of, 460: complaisance
of the Assembly ; trial of McDougal, 461,
463 ; transfer of Dunmore to Virginia, 461.
Trvon, William, appointed governor, 461 ; re-
fusal of, to receive the Income voted by
the Assembly, 462 ; removal of Sears ftrom
office, 462; New York Hospital founded
under the auspices of, 468. 464 ; burning of
the government house, 464; the tea ships;
spirited act'on of the Sons of L'berty, 467,
463; departure for England, 467; return,
4S6 ; bombardment of the town by the Aala,
488 ; flight from the dty of, 449.
Greene.Oeneral, 494, 495, 603, 664
Hale, Nathan, secret expedition of,«601 ; arrest
and execution of, 602.
Hall, Thoroaii, settles at Tnrtle Bay, 85 ; one of
the Counc.l of Nine Blen, 188.
Hamilton, Andrew, Jefence of In the Zonger
trial, 8d5-8«.
Hamilton, Alexander, dkJml of, in the grrat meet-
ing in the fields, 477 ; in the affair of the Asia,
4sl; political career of, 588-606; in the affair
3f the Jay treaty, 610 ; death of, 669, 670.
Hanford, Levi, Kcminiscences of, 616-^1.
Hardenburg, Amoldns, 126, 188.
Harlem, first setaed. 14a
Heemskerck, Sxpedition of. 80.
Heemstede, first fetUed, ISO ; Indian massacre
at, 121.
Heermans, Augustine one of the Counoil of Nine
Men, 188.
Bayard*s Mount, afterward Bunker Hill, 25,
894,608.
Crummashle, 824*
Inclenberg, 824.
Murray, 604, 619.
Potter^s, 821
Zantberg, 25, 824.
Hoffman, Josiah Ogden, recorder, 639, 703.
Holmes, George, settles at Turtle Bay, 85.
Ho^pitaUf'
New York, founded, 468, 626, 783.
BeUevue, 624.
Of 1869, 784.
Howe, Gen., arrival at Suten Island of, 493 ; In
the battle of Long Island, 496-493 ; at Kip's
Bay, 602; inlhe baUle of Harlem Plains, 606.
606; in conunand at N«w York, 511,648 ; rtcall
of, 662.
Hudson, Henry, first expeditions of, 81 : discov-
ery of Manhattan by, 88 ; ascends the river,
Zi ; encounter with the Indians at Fort Wash-
ington, 86 ; return to Europe, 87 ; death of, 88.
Hudson Kiver, various names of, 8^ 85.
Hughes, Hugh, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412.
Huyck, Jan, ^ Krankbesoecker*' at New Am«ter>
Inclenberg~See HiUt.
Independence, Declaration of, reception In New
York of, 492
Indian War, first, 111-122 ; second, 144, 145.
Institutions, benevolent, in the beginning of tbe
nineteenth century, 62S-680 ; in 1859, 284.
Barent*s or Bam. Groat, now Ward^s, pur-
chased by Van TwlUer, 76, 77; site of Emi-
grant Hospital, 772.
Barent's or Bam, Little, now Kandall% site of
the House of Refuge, 772.
Bedlow's, first quarantine established at, 855 ;
fortifications of, 772.
BlackwelPs, purchased by Tan TwUler, 76,
77 ; pubho buUdings of, 772.
Nutten, now Goveraor*s; purchased by Van
Twiller, 76; fortifications of, 498, TOO, m.
Oyster, now Ellis, fortifications of, 700, 772.
Staten, grant of land to Cornells Melyn, 86 ;
purchased by the Company ; first settlement
of the Huguenots, 142 ; Howe at, 498 ; in tha
Revolution, 656, 666 ; site of the Quarantine,
772.
Jacobson, Marcus, sold Into slavery by order of
Lovelace, 168.
James, Major, house destroyed by the Sons of
Liberty, 420.
Jansen. Roeief; land granted by Van Twiller to,
76,76.
Jant, or Jansen, Aneke, widow of Eoelef ; mar-
riage with Bogardus of, 76 ; sale of estate to
the OoloDlal government, and subsequent lease
to Trinity Church, 76. 276.
Jansen, Hendrick, one of the Council of Twelve
Men. 107.
Jansen, MichaeL one of the Council of Nine Men,
188.
Jay, Augustus, early Huguenot realdeot, 209-
genealogy of family, Appbxoix, Nots L.
Jay, John, in the Committee of Slfty-one, 474
846
INDEX.
delegate to the Continent«l Congren, 477;
shalrmftn of the Committee of Bafetj, 010;
Chief Justice, 645 ; Peace Commksioner, 667:
In the Docton'Uob, 686; goreraor of New
York, 609 ; treaty of, 609-61L
Jay, Peter A., recorder, TOi.
Johnson, Hot. Samuel, flnl president of KIn£*i
CoUege, 878, 8d7, 681.
Eennedj Hooie, head-qaarten of Lee, Putnam
and Washington, 490, 628.
Kidd, William, history of, 851 ; In command of
Adrentore galley, 854 ; piraey of; 265 ; arrest
and execution of; 856.
Kip, Hendrlck Hendricksen, first city lot granted
to, 96 ; one ef the Coundl of Nine Men. 188.
Elng, Charles, president of Columbia College,
784.
King's Farm granted to Trinity Church, 975, 847.
Knox, Oen., in command at New York, 666^71.
Knowlton, CoL, in the batUe of Hariem Plains,
605 : death of, 606.
Knypbausen, Gen., In the battle of Long Island,
495; at Fort Washington, 606 ; at New York,
611.
Kolek— See OolUet,
Kossuth, Louis, arriTal at New York of, 751.
Krlgier, Martin, one of the first burgomasters, 96,
188, 186.
Krol, Sebastian Jansen, **Krank besoecker*' at
New Amsterdam, 58.
Euyter, Jochem Pietersen, arrlral of, 86; one of
Council of Twelve Men, 107 ; one of Council of
Eight Men, 118; dispute with Kieft; exUed
fh>m the province, 180, 181 ; shipwreck, 182 ;
appointed schout by the Company, 140; mur-
der of, 14L
>T of the French
Laborie. Rev. James, first pastoi
church In Pine street, 881.
Laight, Edward, one of the Sons of Liberty, 412.
Lafayette, Gen., arrival of, 507 : departure from
New York, 514 ; subsequent Tisit of, 714.
Lamb, John, one of the Sons of Liberty, 418, 417 ;
arrested by the Assembly, 445, 480; In the
affair of the Asia, 4S8 ; in the federal riot, 690,
691.
Lampo, Jan, first schout fiscal of the province,
58,69.
La Montague, Johannes, member of the Council
of Kieft, 79, 11 1, 180, 181, 186.
Landttag of delegates ftt>m the five Dutch towns
assembled at New Amsterdam. 141.
Lee, Gen. Charles, in command at New York,
^ ; arrested and imprisoned in the City Hall,
548.
Leitch, Major, in the battle of Harlem PlaSoa,
505 ; death of, 506.
Lewis, Francis, one of the Sons of Liberty, 418,
477, 547, 550.
Lewis, Morgan, governor of the State of New
York, 687, 701.
Liberty Pole, erected on the Commons, 429; cot
down by the British soldiers, erected and again
cut down, 482-485; new Liberty Pole *.rected
by the Sons of Uberty, 454, 455.
LUfrariet—
American Institute, 787.
Apprentices, 787.
Astor, 7S6.
Corporation, commenced in 1789, 819.
Historical Society, in 1804, 786, 787.
Mercantile, in 1886, 787.
Society, in 1754, 819, 880, 884, 655, 786.
Uspenard, Leonard, delegate to first Colonial
Congress, 412, 477.
Uq>enard*s Meadows, 88, 885.
Livingston, Robert, first proprietor of Livingston
Manor, 886, 856, 866 ; genealogy of fkmily,
Appkxdix, Noti J.
Uvingston, WiUiam, 880, 409.
Livingston, Philip, leader of the Presbyterian
party, 878 ; delegate to fixat Colonial Congn^,
418,477,647.
Livingston, Robert R., delegate to first Oolocfal
Congress. 418 ; one of the tamers of the Deiia-
ratlon of Independence, 498 ; chancellor, 545 ;
in the Erie Canal, HS, 780.
Livingston, Maturin, recorder, 687.
Loockermans, Oovest, 98 ; one of the Coandl of
Nine Men, lS8w
Low, Isaac, 441, 474.
Lupoid, Ulrich, schout fiscal, 77, 79.
Magaw, CoL, in command at Fort Washington,
607.^609 ; prisoner at New York, 618.
Manhattan, the island of; In iu primitive sute,
81, 84, 88 ; naUves of, 86-88 : causes which led
to the discovery of, 88, 88; first setUement of,
89 ; purchase by the Dutch from the Indians
of, 58 ; Fort Amsterdam erected on, 57 ; fint
ship bnUt at, 59.
Manhattan Waterworks. 745, 746.
Mannini^ Capt. John, left in command of the
city, 164 ; surrender of the fort to the Dutch
by, 166; court martial of, for cowardice, 166,
167.
Mamaroneck, the property of Caleb Heathcote,
899.
Mayors—
Wiilett, Thomas, first mayor of the city, in
1666, 1667, 167 ; in the affair of Leisler, 285.
DelavaU, Thomaa, 1666, 1671, 1678, 157. 171,
178 178. 1 » -1 1
Bteenwyck, ComeUns, 1668-1671, 1681-16SS,
178.
NicoU, Matthias, 1673, 17S.
Lawrence, John, 1678, 167 ; 1691, 173, 178, 285,
DervaU, WOliam, 1675, 178.
De Meyer, Nicholas, in 1676, 196.
Van Cortlandt, Stephanus, 1677, I6S8. 1687, 200,
201 ; in the affUr of Uisler, 820, 226, 229, 284,
285, 841.
Rombouts, Francois, 1679. 801.
Dyre, William, in 1G80, 805, 806l
MinveiUe, Gabriel, in 16S4, 810, 211 ; in tho
affair of Leisler, 235.
Bayard, Nicholas, in 16S5, 158, 211; In the
affair of Leisler, 280-824. S26. 828, 229 ; in the
administration of Nanlan, 284, 267; gene-
^V'i^y .'.r, AT-rryr.Ti, Sotl Q.
U' I- y. rj.Lv-r, u >L umy.ir drcU-d by the
\y^o\4e, im im, ^ii, ii^i; coutast with
VaiiL"flrtlandt,M4^^
I>Mir.wick^ C^arle^ ie9i. tOSQ, £28, IM)^
Meirl(t, WUIlani, 16»&-1693^ MQ.
D« I'ertter, Joliai]»9i, t«9^ t^OV, KM. «((, 267.
De Itieioer, Inniic, ITtl^, ITOl.
Ki5t'L Thon^o*. iTul, ITOS; »pp'>ijiJ«d, 265;
cotjl^i lixftwcen the LeblcLaoi aud antl-
I ' i^krliLii.^ liutiiig thii adiutDiftratlou of, 26{S^
267.
French, PhUip, 1708, 1708, 868, 280.
Peartree, WilUam, 1708-1707, 281.
Wilson, Ebeneser, 1707-1710, 288.
Tan Cortlandt, Jacobus, 1710, 1711, 1719, 1720,
Heathcote, Caleb, 1711-1714, 847, 296, 299, 806.
Johnston, John, 1714-1719, 800, 806.
Walters, Robert, 1780-1725, 805, 81L
Jansen, Johannes, 1785. 1726, 811.
Lorting, Robert, 1786-1786, 811, 847.
t
INDEX.
847
UayorB" eoDtinned.
Blcbard, Paul, 1785-1789, SIT.
Oruger, J<Jhn, 1789-1744. 858. _
Bayard, Stepheo, 1744-1747, 870. STL
Hollanii, Edirari 1747-1751, 87*.
Cruger, John, Jr., 1767-1766, 891 ; dispnte with
Lord Loudon, 891, 892 ; delegate to flrst
Colonial Congress, 412; stamps recelTcd
from Colden by, 421,482,441.
Hicks, Whitehead, 1766-1776, 487, 488, 451
Mathews, David, mayor during the Keroiutlon,
Duane. Jaroes, first mayor after the Revolu-
tion, 1784-1789. 474, 479, 574, 601 ^
Varlck, Richard. 1789-1801. 604. 610.
Livingston. Edward, 1801-1808, 614. 662. 668.
CUnton, DeWlt^ 1808-1807, 180S-1610, 1811-
1816, appointed, 663; removed ft-om the
mayoralty; reappointed and again removed,
637 : restored to office, 688 ; elected governor.
T04 ; in the Erie Canal, 716-721 ; death of,
722
"WlUett, Marlnus, 1807-1808, appointed mayor.
637; previous career of, 412, 480. 484,486,
608 ; ambassador to the Greeks, 696.
Radcllff, Jacob, 1810, 1811, 1816-1818, ap-
pointed, 680 ; reappointed. 708, T04.
Colden. Cadwallader D., 1818-1821, appointed
to the mayoralty, 704 ; removed, T06.
AUen, Stephen. 1821-1828, appointed, T05;
supeneded, 706.
Pauldtog. \^mam, 1828-1825, 1826-1829. 706,
709, 715, 780, 782.
Bowne, Walter, 1829-1888, 782, 788.
Lee, Gideon, 1888-1884, 788.
Lawrence, ComeUns W., 1>84-1887, T48, 741
Clark, Aaron, 1887-1889. 744.
Variali, Isaac L., 1889-1841, 744, T46.
Morris, Robert H., 1841-1844, 746.
Harper, James, 1844, 1846, 748.
Havcmeyer, wluiam F., 1846, 1846, 1848, 1849,
748, lAd
MlcUe, A.' H., 1846, 1847, 748. ^
Brady, WilUam V., 1847, 1848, T49.
WoodhulL Caleb 8., 1849-1861, 749-751.
Klngsland, Ambrose C, 1851-1858, 751.
Wertervelt, Jacob A.. 1858-1856, 751, 751
Wood, Fernando, 1856-1853. 764, 760.
Tlemann, Daniel F., 1863, 76a .,.^ _.
McDougall, Alexander, one of the Sons of Liberty,
412 ; arrest and Imprisonment of, 446, 446 ; one
of the Committee of Fifty One, 474; colonel of
New York regiment, 486. „ „
McEvers, James, stamp distributor at New York,
407 41 1.
McGliuvray, Alexander, visit of, with Creek
deputation, 608, 601
Megapolensis, Domlne, clergyman at New Am-
sterdam, ISl
Melyn, Cornells, arrival of, 88 ; grantee of Staten
Inland, 85 ; one of Council of Eight Men, 118 ;
dispute with Kieft; exiled flrom the colony, 180,
181 ; shipwreck of, 182.
Mespaih, destruction of; 119; Indian massacre
MlchadUaa, Rev. Jonas, supposed flrst clergyman
at New Amsterdam, 68. 64, Appendix, Nora 0.
Milbome, Jacob, dispatched by Lelsler to Al-
bany, 227 ; return to New York. 228; second
expedliion to Albany. 280, 281 : arrest and Im-
prisonment of. 286; trial and execution of.
236-288 ; disinterred and buried in the Garden
street church, 271.
MlnetU Brook, 25, 824.
Molenaar, Abram, one of the council of Twelve
Men, 107.
Montague, Abraham, 44S, 447, 465. 462.
Montgomery. Gen. Richard, interment o^ In St.
Paul's Churchyard, 710 ; tomb of, 711, 712.
Morgan, WilUam, abduction and supposed mur-
der of; anti-Masonic excitement, 781, 782.
Morris, Lewis, antecedenu of, 288, 289; in the
councils of Hunter, 288-292; chief Justice, 298,
808, 806, 829; removed f^om office by Cosby,
881 ; espouses the cause of Van Dam, 846 ;
governor of New Jersey, 846; genealogy of
family, Appbvoix, Note K.
Morris, Gouvemeur, 486, 647. 650, 691, 719.
Morrlsania purchased by Lewis Morris, 2S8.
Morris' House, CoL Roger, head-quariera of
Washington, 606, 621.
Negro plot of 1712, 291, 292 ; of 1741, 866-869.
Nevf Netherland erected into a province, 61 ;
conquest of, by the English, 168 ; recapture by
the Dutch, 164; ceded to the English govern-
ment In exchange for Surinam, 166.
yetoapapers -
ConsUtutional Conrant, issued in 1765, 409,
4ia
Greenleaf 's Patriotic Register, 689, 6D0.
Independent Reflector, organ of the Presbyte-
rian party in 1764. 8^
New York Gaxette, first paper in the dty, pub-
lished by William Bradford, 250, 811, 882,
884,888.
New York Gazette or Weekly Post Boy, 8Sd,
418,444.648.
New York Weekly Journal, issued by John
Peter Zenger. 282 ; burnt by the hangman,
288 ; discontinuance of. 888.
Rlvlngton's Gasette, destroyed by the Liberty
Boys, 489; transformed Into the Royal Ga-
sette, 648.
Weekly Mercury, published by Hugh Galne,
888,648.
Journalism In the city In the beginning of the
nineteenth century, 666; f^om 1825 to 1841,
784-741 ; to 1869, 789.
Newtown founded. 187.
Notelman, Conrad, schout fiscal, 52. 69, 66. 72.
Opera House Rl9t. Astor Place. 749-768.
Oswald, Francis, one of the Sons of liberty, 412,
487.
Packets, flrst line of European, established, 709
710.
Paine, Thomas, author of "Common Sense,"
491.
Palatines. Immigration of, 287; migration to
Pennsylvania and Livingston's Manor, 288.
Parks, pubUc, of 1859, 776.
PauluB Hook, purchase of, 67.
Pauw. Michael, patroon of Pavonla, 67.
Pavonla, flrst erected Into a patroonshlp, 57 ;
purchased by the company, 78 ; Indian massa-
cre at, 111. 112. .
Phlllpse. Frederick^ member of council In 16S9,
220 ; genealogy of family, Appexdix, Nora II.
Phlllpse. Adolphus, judge of ^^upreme Court, 880.
831 ; In the Zenger ti ial. a^S.
Planck, Abraham, one of the council of Twelve
Men, 107.
Pintard, John, reminiscences of, 618, 614, 52G-
680, 710, 719.
Pitt, WiUiam, statue of. 481.
Polhemus, Domlne Johannes, installed at Mid-
wout, 142.
Potter's Field. 616, 617.
Prisons of the Revolution. 612-681.
Prison Ships of the Revolution, 681-540.
Public BuHding$—
Government House and public buildings erect-
ed by Van Twiller, 66; stone Uvem, In 1642,
at Coenttes SUp, by Kieft, 79 ; converted Intc
a Stadt buys, 186.
848
INDEX.
PubWi SuiUUn ff 9— conthmt±
Flm Market-hOQM built at the Bowling Green,
147.
Citj Hall built in WaU ftreet ; Stadt hnjs told
at auction, 258.
Almf House erected on theConunont, 800, M7.
Firet Merchants' Exchange, at the foot of
Broad street, in 1708, 874.
King's CoUege, at the foot of Park Place, 878 ;
Columbia CoUege, 027, 628.
Neir Tork Hospital, founded in 1778, 468, 4«4,
625, 626.
Bridewell, In the ReroluUon, 522,628, 580, 581,
New Jail, in the Berolutlon, 028-580,581,628,
Federal HaU in WaU itreet fitted np for Con-
gress, 591.
Goremment House erected on the site of the
oldlbrt; afterward the Custom House, 586,
597,656.
Alms House on the Commons, in 1796, 68L ^
State Prison at Greenwlch^628.
Bellerue Establishment, 6k7.
Post-office, 656.
Tontine Coffee House, 680.
Arsenal. 660.
City HaU built in the Park, 667, 668
Merchants* Exchange built in Wall street, 729 ;
burning ot 742.
PubUo buil<Ungs of 1869. 776-7S8.
Public ImproremerUa and munieipal
ordinance —
Fort staked out ; horse-mill built, 68.
Fort rebuilt: graveyaid laid out: windmills
buUt,65.
Ciriland criminal court established; excise
law* esUbllshed by Kleft, 80.
Two annual fairs instituted in 1641, 96.
City wall built along the line of Wall street, 128.
Fire wardens appointed; weights and measures
regulated, 184.
Portlflcations erected in Wall street, 187.
Burgher rights established in the city, 145, 146.
Fire-buckets, hooks and ladders imported,
and a rattle watch organised; thatched
roofli and wooden chimneys aboHshed, and
improred property suhjeoed to taxaJion,
Latin school opened, 147.
Koad opened to Harlem. 143.
Public meetbig for merchanu In 1660, in Broad
street, instituted ; monthly mail esUbllshed
between New Tork and Boston, 162.
Ordinances of Andros, 197-200.
Broad street improred, 190.
Slaughter houses removed ftt>mthe city, 200.
Public wells buUt In the city, 184, 20L
City dirided into six wards, 209, 210.
Powder magaslne established at the Smit's
Tly,212.
Water street projected ; Wall street laid out,
218,214.
City fortified by LeIsIer, 226.
Water street extended ; Pine and Cedar streets
laid out, 241.
Maiden Lane regulated. 258.
Streets cleaned at public expense, and for the
first Ume lighted, 253, 250.
First night watch established, 259.
First English school estabUshed In the city,
278,274.
Freedom of the dty In Combnry^s administra-
tion; street cleaning; public pound, 279,
iSL
Water street extended; Broadway pared;
ordinances of 1707. 2S8.
Market opened at the upper end of Broad
street, 296, 297.
PabUc imp rottHMnU—wtMnjxtA.
First purchase of ftimitore for the nae of the
Common Council, 297. 206.
Public clock put up on the City HaU, 800.
First ropewaUc built in Broadway, SOL
New fenj established, 801.
Jews' burial ground established near CSiatham
Square, 815.
Powder Magazlna bnUt on the island in th«
Collect, 815.
Greenwich and Washington streets commenced;
new ships built, 819.
Line of sUges esUbllshed between New Toric
and PhUadelphla, 819.
First public Ubrazy establfahed In the dty, 819,
820.
Markets of 1786, 82t
The ** Strand " sold at pubUc auction. 822
Pearl street laid out and regulated, 822.
City dirided into seren wards, 825.
Fire engines first introduced, 825 ; fire depart-
ment organised, 826.
Alms House and House of Correction buUt on
the Commons, CorUandt street opened, 847.
First stone of the new battery laid on the
Whitehall rocks, 848.
Water street named and extended, 848.
Sector street opened, 849.
Quarantine established at Bedlow's Island, 855.
Market House built in Broadway, opposite Lib-
erty street, 858.
John, Dey, Beekman and Thames ttreets pared
and regulated, 874.
First Merchants' Exchange buUt at the foot of
Broad street, 874.
King's College proposed, 878.
Walton house buUt, 884.
Ferry esUbllshed between New York and
SUten Island, 884.
Peck sup opened and pared, 884.
Fulton street opened and regulated, 891
Theatre opened in Beekman street, 805.
Public lamps and lamp-poets for the first time
erected, 897.
Sandy Hook lighthouse lighted for the first
time, 888.
FeiTiee esUbllshed between New Tork and Pati-
lus Hook, and SUten Island and Bergen, 898.
New York HoepiUl commenced, 468.
Canal constructed in Canal street, 578, 579.
Collect filled up, 5S0.
First sidewalks laid hi the city, 681, 682.
Broadway graded below Canal street, 582.
Streeta numbered, 682.
Manhattan Water-works coEwtructed, 668, 667.
Public schools esUbllshed In the dty, 674-677.
Introduction of Steam NarigaUon, 678-688.
Steam ferry-boats first used on the rivers, 6861,
687.
New York Island ssrreyed and laid out, 601,
692.
Fortification of the harbor, 607-701.
European packet lines esUbliehed, 709, 710.
First Sarinp Bank opened in the dty, 710.
Introduction of Gas into the dty, 723, 724.
Marble first used as a buUdIng material, 726,
727.
Penny press first estabUshed, 784-788.
Introduction of the Oroton water into the dty,
746-748.
CrysUl Palace opened In 1868, 751-758.
Central Park purchased and laid out, 764r-760.
Putnam, Gen. Israd, In command at New York,
490; in the battle of Long Island, 485-408;
eracuaOon of the dty by, 508, 504, 508.
Quackenbos, Isaac, in the battle of Golden mil,
448-45a
i
INDEX.
849
Randall, Thomas, 477.
Eapelje, George Jansen de. arrtral of, 60; fiundbr
of; S4 ; one of the OoiiocU of Twelve Men, 107.
Rasitires, Isaac de, firat koopman of the proTince,
08: letter to Ooremor Bradford of, 58, M.
EawliiM, CoL, at Fori Washington, 607, 606 ; pris-
oner at New Tork, 513.
RenMelaer, William Van, first patroon of Rena-
selaerswick. 67.
Renaselaersirlck, erected Into a patroonshlp, 67.
Riker, Richard, recorder, 608, 708, 704.
Rltnna, Domlne, of the Collegiate Chorch, 683.
Ritsma, Adolph, colonel of New York regiment,
487.
Robertson, Oen., military commandant of the
city, 605, 688.
Robinson, Thomas, one of the Sons of liber^,
410,417.
Robinson, Bererly, 421.
Rou, Rer. Lonls, of the French chorch in Fine
street, 809.
Sandy Hook, discovery of; 82.
Saybrook founded, 78.
Schuyler, Peter, 224, 265, 294, 805 ; genealogy of
family, Appkhdix, Notb I.
Scott, John Morin, one of the Sons of Liberty,
411 : in the Broad street aflUr, 485.
Seal, first, granted to the dty, 189, 140 ; first Eng-
lish seal, 162 ; seal of 1686, 218, 214.
Sears, Isaac, one of the Sons of Liberty, 410,
417 ; wounded at the Liberty Pole, 482, 485 ; in
the battle of Golden Hill, 443-150 ; remoral
from office of, 462, 477 ; delegate from the city
to the first Prorindal Congress, 479 ; arrest and
subsequent release of, 4S0 ; enters the army.
487 ; office of JUniui/ion'i Oa»eU^ destroyed
by, 489.
Selyns, Domlne Henry, installed at Brenckelea,
Shoemaker's Land, the, 828.
Skinner. Abraham, American Oommiasaiy, 689.
Smits, Clacs, murder of, 106.
Smith, William, 298, 805: in the Zenger trial, 881,
888 ; struck from the list of attorneys by Cosby,
884 ; restored to the bar, 878, 876. 400.
Smith. Michael, in the battle of Golden Hill, 451.
Societies, benoTolent, in the beginning of tba
nineteenth century, 623-680; in 1859, 734;
religious, in the beginning of the nineteenth
centurf. 681.
Sons of Liberty, organ'iation of, 409 ; leaders of,
410; patriotic handbilU of, 418; Committee of
Correspondence chosen by, 417 ; Colden burnt
In effigy on the Commons by, 418-420 ; stamps
dellTered by Colden to.422, 428 ; stamp distribu-
tor for Maryland se'.zed by ,426 ; stamps on board
the Minerva seised and burnt by, 427, 428 ; first
stamped paper seen in the city, 4SS. Lord
GrenvUle, Lord Colville and General Murray
burnt In effigy on the Commons, ^8, 429 ; re-
peal of the btamp Act ; Liberty Pole erected on
the Commons by, 429, 480 ; battles about the
Liberty Pole, 4^M86; handbills denouncing
the Assembly issued by, 444; arrest of John
Lamb, 445 ; Liberty Pole cut down by the sol-
diers; indignation meeting of the Sons of
Uberty, 447 ; battle of Golden Hill, 448-458;
Liberty Pole erected by, 464, 465 ; Hampden
Uall purchased by, 456, 466; Nathan Rogers,
45S; spirited action in respect to the landing
of tea, 467, 463; airiral of the tea ships;
tea-party in New York Harbor. 469-178 ; leave
taking of the captains by tha Sons of Liberty,
472, 478 ; correspondence with the Sons of
Liberty in Boston; the Committee of Fifty-one;
renewal of the non-importation agreement pro-
posed, 478, 474; great meeting In the fields.
476, 477 ; boards for the Boston barracks seised
by, 480; reception of the news of the battle of
Laxbkgton by, 481-488 : seisnre of the stores at
Turtle Bay by, 488 : the Broad street aflklr,
434-486 ; remoTal of the cannon frt>m the Bat-
tery ; bombardment of the town by the Asia,
488 ; RMngton's OawetU destroyed by, 489 ;
declaration of Ind«>endence in New York;
statue of George IlL demolished by the Lib-
erty Boys, 492; after the oocnpatlon of the
city by the British 610. 611 ; at the fire of
1776,541: bumhig of Oltrer De Laneoy's house
at Bloomingdale by, 542, 548.
Sproat, David, British Commissary, 688-4M0.
Steuben, Baron, arrival oi; 607; jrablio reception
by the oivle aothoritles of; 676 ; in tha Doo-
ton' Mob, 686.
Stirling, Lord, Long Island granted by Plymoath
Company to, 86, 86.
SUrling, Lord WilUam Alexander. In the battte
of Long IsUnd, 494-493; ezpedlUon against
Staten Island of, 566.
Streets of New Amsterdam fai 1664, 168-190.
Strickland's Plain, batUe of; 122.
"Sngar House in Liberty street, erection of, 816,
817 ; in the Revolution, 5144^16. 621.
Sugar House, Rhlnelander's, in the Revolation,
621.
Sullivan, Gen., in the battle of Long Island, 494-
498.
Swaanendael, claimed as a patroonshlp, 67;
massacre at, 58, 69; purchased by the Com-
pany, 72.
Swamp, the, 828.
Telegraph, first magnetic, ftt>m New York, 748.
Telegraph Gable CelebraUon, 764, 766.
Tombs, 788.
Tompkins, Daniel D., 701. 702, 715.
Treaty of Tawasentha, 44, 45.
Underhin, John, settles in New Neiherland, 68 ;
in the Indian war, 118-121 ; revolts against the
Dutch government, 187.
Utrecht, New, founded by Jaques Cortelyon,
150.
Tan Cortlandt. Oloffe Stevenson, alderman, 157 ;
genealogy of fismily, Appihoix, Notb F.
Tan Couwenhoven, 92, 188, 186.
Van Dam. Rip, member of Coundl of Hunter,
288, 298 ; of Burnet, 806 ; administers afBairs
after the death of Montgomerie, 823 ; contest
with Cosby, 880, 881 : contest with Clarke, 845.
VandercUTs Orchard, 828, 824
Vandergrist, Paulus, one of the first ichepens, 186.
Tan Dincklagen, Lubbertus, schout fiscal of the
province ; dispnte with Van Twlller, 72 ; sus-
tained by the States General, 77, 78; vice-
Director under Stuyvesant, 126.
Van Dyck, Hendrick, in the Indian waf, 109.
Van Fees, Anthony, earliest conveyance of pro-
perty in the city made to, 95.
Van GheeL MaTimlHan, one of the first schepana,
186.
Van Hatten, Arent, one of the first bnrgomastera,
186.
Van Ness House, the, 618, 619.
Van Remund, Jan, koopman, 62, 68. 65.
Van Ruyven, Cornelius, alderman, 157.
Van Schellnyne, Dlrck, first lawyer of Neir
Amsterdam, 184.
Van TIenhoven, Cornelias, koopman. 64, 79 ; in
the Indian war, 104, 106 ; schout, 186.
Van Vaurk, James, 445.
Van Wyck, Pierre C, recorder, 687-689L
850
INDEX.
Tan Zandt, Jacobos, 445.
Verrasani, Jean, dlscoTery of Manhattan by, S8 ;
narrative of, 2^ 89.
Vesey, Rev. William, flnt clergyman of Trinity
cburch, 251, £82.
WftUihoul* the, i*UJtid, tO, M.
Vl'iillocni. Krrti'iLL of, 6^^
Wnltoa Uouire, Uie. treeted, fl>5, P^6.
Wjunpum^ d^cri|>tloti or^ t^{), ]Q0; ardlibUDCe
rtlp«etLng, JQO, lOU
Wnmufton, UftD.i la command at Sev York,
4^1; at tlift bame of Lodj^ Inland, 4D,%-198;
retr*ftt* ft-om Long lalftpd, 4aB^i<)i^ ; titJi littee
the ciiy, 501 ; 1q ttie batUo of Emrleni i'Edlaa,
EkhS, fiU*} ; At Morrliatiiv^ CKMt ; e-Tticiiatai the
tiUad, &0J J coa* piracy agAlaiV, builltd br the
New YMt delegmloi^ WO, oao ; catera tb» dty
on the 85th of November, 1788, 5«S; at
Frannces' Tarera, 678, 678; inangarated first
President of the United States in the City Hall
in WaU ftreet, 6M, 606; life in Nev Yorfc,
Wiley, William, one of the Bom of Liberty, 412,
417, 487^^
Williams, Krasmns, one of the Sons of Liberty,
Wistar, Caspar, one of the Sons of Liberty, 445i
Wolferfs Marsh, 26, 824.
Woodball, Gen. Nathaniel, death of; 498.
Zantberg'— See JTZOt.
Zenser, John Peter, bfarth and history of; 882 ;
Jfsw York Wetkly Journal pablished by,
882; arrest and imprisonment oL 883; **th«
Zcnger trial,*' 886-848.
THE END.
rs
H.
;<*
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LI
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